Black Roses: The Sequel
by LexieF
Summary: There are two births: the one when light, First strikes the new awakened sense; The other when two souls unite, And we must count our life from thence, When you loved me and I loved you, Then both of us were born anew - William Cartwright - This story will honor the DH epilogue as well as many of the information JK shared as to what happened to the characters.
1. Paris, je t'aime

**Hello there my dear readers!**

**If you are familiar with Black Roses, welcome back! If this is your first time reading a fanfic written by me, welcome ( :**

**When I finished writing BR, I had no intentions to write a sequel. But then I had some people ask for it and as I thought about it, the idea for an entire chapter (that won't come up till later in the story) came to me, and after writing it I just couldn't imagine not sharing it with you readers. **

**To be honest, I didn't foresee having the time to actually write anything, as I was already busy with college related stuff before classes had even started, but it has calmed down some, so I have written the first six chapters and the one that will come up later. I'll try to post a new one every week, but I am still editing them and college is fixing to get busier again, so if I go MIA for longer than that, please bear with me. **

**I have a few things to say before getting to the story. First, for those who haven't read Black Roses if you do not wish to read it, don't worry I think you will be able to follow along just fine. I highly recommend reading it though.**

**Second, unlike Black Roses, in which I tried to follow Draco and Sofia's lives every month, with the sequel I move a little faster through time. As the sequel tells their story after Harry defeats Voldemort, I will be writing about some major milestones in their lives, and those will not be happening back to back. I would love to explore anything and everything that happens in between, but let's face it, that's not realistic. Can you imagine writing the story of your live, entirely? Me either!**

**With that being said (or perhaps typed), the sequel won't be as mysterious and adventured pack (or as long) as Black Roses was. Voldemort is gone, and as JK herself wrote "all was well". But please don't let that discourage you! There are plenty of things to look forward to, and several sweet moments that will, hopefully, give you the feels!**

**As always, anything other than the OC or otherwise cited, belongs to JK. As said on the summary, t****his story takes place after Harry defeats Voldemort, and will honor the Deathly Hallows epilogue as well as many of the information JK shared as to what happened with the characters. The main exception being that Draco will _not_ marry Astoria. He already has a girl, and he is keeping her!**

**Please feel free to leave me a review! I was very encouraged by all the reviews for Black Roses!**

**Last, but not least, enjoy!**

* * *

Draco took a deep breath, slowly letting it out through his mouth. He opened his eyes and looked at his surroundings once more. It was early afternoon, on a warm summer day, but the heat was not what was upsetting him. Anywhere he looked, countless Muggles were walking around, chatting in several different languages, snapping pictures and gapping at the enormous structure Draco was currently facing. A few steps ahead of him, Sofia was helping an American couple, who knew very little French, to find their way to the nearest subway station. He continued to watch her, in admiration, until someone put a hand on his shoulder.

He looked down at the hand, following the arm up all the way to its owner's face. The chubby man, with receding white hair, smiled at Draco before pushing something into his hand.

"Do you mind?" He said.

Draco looked down and froze in shock. The man had handed him what looked like a camera, but it was completely different than any camera he had seen in the wizarding world. He looked up at the man who was now hugging a tinny, frail looking woman, both posing for the picture, and swallowed hard, at lost for words.

"Not at all" A female voice said, coming from behind him.

Sofia stepped in front of Draco, took the camera from his hand and positioned herself in front of the couple.

"Make sure to get the Tower dear" Said the woman, smiling widely.

Sofia smiled back, before proceeding to take a few pictures of the couple. Once she was done, she had them look over the pictures, to make sure they liked it. Judging from the squeaks of delight coming from the woman, Draco knew they did. After thanking Sofia, the couple vanished in the crowd of Muggles still looking around.

"You don't have to look so annoyed you know? People are staring" Sofia said, coming to his side.

"What?"

"I know you haven't exactly been to a Muggle town before Draco, and it's quite obvious that you aren't enjoying yourself"

Draco looked down are her, suddenly worried. It was true he wasn't enjoying himself much; after all, he could not understand why people found it enjoyable to stay in line for hours, only to get a chance to ride up to the top of a building. He didn't want, however, to hurt Sofia's feelings. He had promised to give Paris a chance, and even though he had found all the art sculptures and paintings in the Louvre very interesting, he had yet to fall in love with the city like Sofia had so many years ago. He simply just failed to see the charm in it.

"I'm sorry" He said, putting his arms around her.

"It's fine, I knew this was a bit too much for you. How about we skip the Eiffel Tower and stop by the coffee shop I told you about? "

"I would enjoy that"

Draco might have not fallen in love with Paris' buildings, but he had certainly come to love the French cuisine. His favorite part of any day spent around the city so far, had been when they had stopped to eat.

They walked hand in hand to the café, which was less than a block away from where they were. When they arrived, they sat at an outside table, enjoying the breeze. After a few minutes a waiter, who look very upset over something, approached them and asked for their order, rather rudely. Draco automatically looked at Sofia, but she shook her head from side to side, before looking down at the newspaper she had grabbed earlier that day.

Draco looked at the man, suddenly feeling nervous. Ever since he had arrived at Beauxbatons with Sofia three weeks ago, he had been learning French. While Sofia had been in class, one of the schools' teachers had taught him. After Sofia graduated and they left for Paris, she had been helping Draco with his studies. He had learned it fairly easily, but still felt unsure. He was even less willing to speak any French now, as the man was visibly upset.

Struggling a little, he was able to tell the man what they wanted. The man nodded, looking relieved Draco was finally done trying to speak and headed back inside. On his way in, the waiter whispered something Draco didn't recognize, but Sofia did, and judging by the look on her face, it wasn't a nice word.

Sofia stood up and approached the man. Draco lost all hope of understanding what she was saying, as she was speaking fast. The waiter looked at Sofia with bulging eyes, seeming to diminish in high under her furious stare. Another man, probably the owner as he was dressed much nicer than the waiter, approached them. Sofia and the second man exchanged a few words, while the waiter stood staring at the ground.

"What did he call me?" Draco asked when Sofia finally joined him at their table.

"I refuse to use that word"

"Was it that bad?"

"Yes. He claimed he didn't mean it, blamed on a stressful week of work but I don't care, he shouldn't have said it."

"Maybe you should have ordered"

"Rubbish! You need to practice your French. No need to let someone discourage you Draco. I am sorry though"

Apparently, it had indeed been bad. When their drinks were ready, the owner himself brought it to their table, with a few very delicious looking pastries Draco had not ordered. The man apologized profusely once more and informed them they would not be paying for anything today. Sofia thanked the man and he left.

After they finished eating and drinking, they walked leisurely back to their hotel.


	2. A glimpse of the past

**Since last chapter was a short one, I decided to post this one as well. But from now on, I will keep it to only one a week!**

**As always, anything other ****than** the OC or otherwise cited, belongs to JK. 

**Enjoy! **

* * *

The hotel they were staying in was a very nice upscale one, and completely out of Sofia's budged. She had only agreed to stay in there, and let him pay for it, because Draco refused to stay anywhere less opponent. If he was going to stay in a Muggle city, he wanted to make sure he would be somewhere comfortable.

Once inside their room, which was larger than the average French apartment, Sofia dropped face down on the bed. Even though a light breeze had been blowing the whole day, the heat had definitely exhausted her.

"So, our last night in Paris" Draco said, taking a seat next to her and stroking her hair "Where should we go out for dinner?"

"Are you serious right now?" Sofia asked, turning to face him "We just left a café Draco"

"I know, but that doesn't mean I won't be hungry come dinner time"

"Honestly Draco, if you don't stop eating so much, you will lose your nice figure… and that just might be a deal breaker" She winked at him.

He leaned down and kissed her in the head.

"No need to worry Sofia, we Malfoy's never lose our good looks"

She rolled her eyes before getting up and heading for her luggage.

"I can't believe this is our last night in France…. I miss it already"

"And to think we had all but to force you to come back in the first place"

"Oh, shut it" She said, walking past him and stopping just outside the bathroom "And to answer your question, we are going to have dinner at a very nice restaurant, so make sure to dress extra nice"

Draco made his way to his own luggage as Sofia closed the door. After picking out an outfit, he stood by the window and watched as people walked around in the street bellow, his mind going over the past few weeks.

He had been shocked when Sofia said she would only return to Beauxbatons if Draco came along. Her reasoning, besides the obvious ones, was that after all that had happened, it would be good for him to stay away for a while. And she had been right, of course. He had no desire to stay in England while his parents tried to sort everything out and rebuilt the Malfoy name. Eventually, which would be as soon as they returned to England the following morning, he would have to help them, but he still had one more night with Sofia, and he was going to make the best out of it.

Staying at Beauxbatons had been better than he had expected, although for a minute it didn't seem he would be granted permission. Their headmistress was, after all, Hagrid's love interest and well aware of all the bad things Draco had done. It took over an hour of Sofia and her parents explaining to her how Draco had changed sides, saved her life and turned his back on the Dark Lord before she would even considering looking at him. After they had spoken with Madame Maxime, and said goodbye to Olivia and Caleb, Sofia dragged Draco to meet her friends. He already knew some of them from Italy, but could barely recall their names after being introduced to so many people.

Sofia's friends were very curious as to Draco's sudden appearance and he, aided by Sofia, spent a few minutes briefly explaining everything. They did not go into any details, and left out Draco's past almost entirely. Both saw this trip as a chance for Draco to relax and be himself for a while, without having to deal with his past and having to pretend to be someone he no longer was. It was liberating, and Draco enjoyed it. After their conversation died out some, Sofia grabbed his hand and excused herself from her friends. Before they could leave however, Pierre approached her and whispered something in her ear. She nodded, laughing, before pulling Draco away.

While they walked, Draco wanted to ask Sofia what Pierre had said, but refrained from it. He all but forgot about it when they walked into the room. It was rather small, and the only thing in it was a piano. Draco was delighted. He played with Sofia for a few hours, the first time in months. Later, when they were kissing good night, Draco finally asked her what Pierre had said. Laughing again, she told him Pierre had asked whether Draco was the reason for their very awkward conversation in Italy. Draco laughed as well.

"What are you thinking about?" Sofia said, suddenly standing next to him.

"Our first day at Beauxbatons"

"It feels like such a long time ago…"

"Yet, it seems like it was only yesterday"

"It does… anyway, the bathroom is all yours. I'll be doing my hair and make-up out here" She said, pointing at the vanity in the corner.

Draco looked down at her. She had one of the hotel's white robes on, her hair wrapped in a towel. He smirked mischievously.

"Tell me, do we have reservations for tonight?"

"Of course we do, you can't expect us to just walk in and demand a table at one of Paris' busiest restaurants"

"At what time?" He said, wrapping his arms around her.

"Not for another couple of hours, but it will take us at least fifteen minutes to get there" She said, warping her arms around him.

"That is more than enough time for a little bit of fun" He whispered in her ear, slowly undoing her robe.

* * *

Dinner at L'Astrance had been the highlight of their trip, to Draco. The food and the environment made for a very enjoyable dinner. They had tried the night's special and the wine recommended by their waiter, and it was all very delicious. Arriving at the hotel tired from the walking earlier on and with their bellies full, they quickly fell asleep.

The next morning, neither of them wanted to get out of bed. They had just a couple of hours before they had to check out and head to the wizarding community to travel back to England, by Floo network.

Eventually, they reluctantly go out of bed, showered, finished packing and left.

When they arrived at the store from which they would leave for England, Sofia took one last good look outside before Draco grabbed her hand and took her inside.

Once they were standing by the fireplace, Draco kissed her gently before grabbing a handful of Floo powder.

"I will contact you as soon as I get situated" He promised. Sofia nodded, looking gloomy "Don't be like that Sofia, it's not like we won't get to see each other whenever we want"

Draco knew it wasn't entirely true, at least as far as the next few days were concerned. Both him and Sofia had a lot to take care of and would be extremely busy. He had to comfort her however, as it was killing him to see her so sad.

"I know" She said, putting on a brave face "See you soon"

"Very soon" He said, kissing her lips one last time. Then he stepped into the flames "Malfoy Manor"

The last thing Draco saw was Sofia smiling at him, although her smile did not reach her eyes.


	3. Missing you

**Hello!**

**I know it hasn't been a week since I last posted a chapter, but I have changed my mind about that. The new "rule" is that I'll post the chapters as I write/edit them. I just don't see the point of having the chapters ready and not posting it because it hasn't been a week yet. That makes even more sense since some of the chapters are short and don't have a whoooole lot going on. **

**Please bare with my indecisive self lol It will be worth it ( :**

**As always, JK owns the rights to anything other ****than** the OC or otherwise cited.

**Enjoy!**

* * *

"Caleb, come at once! She's here!" Olivia yelled, as Sofia stepped out of the fireplace.

Dropping all her luggage, she ran into her mother's arm. Soon after, Caleb came in and hugged his wife and daughter, who were still embracing. When they finally separated, Mia had already brought a tray with tea and cookies. Mia bowed before grabbing hold of Sofia's belongings and taking them to her room.

"I take it everything went well since your last letter?" Caleb asked.

"Yes, although a waiter at our favorite café by the Eiffel Tower was very rude to Draco. Thankfully, his French isn't that good, so he couldn't understand what the man said"

"Oh, that's terrible sweetie" Olivia said, before taking a sip of her tea.

"It could have been worse"

"And did you take him to L'Astrance?" Caleb asked.

"Yes, he loved it. We had a really good time. Draco wasn't much of a fan of sightseeing though. But he did seem to enjoy the Louvre"

"I'm glad you kids had a good time" Olivia said with a smile.

"Me too, I just wish it wasn't over already. But tell me, how have things been?"

They talked for the rest of the morning and well into the afternoon. It wasn't until Mia came in with an urgent owl for Caleb that they stopped talking. Even though it was a Sunday, Caleb had been called in to the Ministry and left at once.

Olivia went briefly to the kitchen while Sofia and Mia made their way to Sofia's room. She opened the door slowly, almost hesitantly. She hadn't been in her room for over a year, yet it looked exactly like she had left it. The only thing different were her black flowers from Draco, already in the windowsill, and her trunk and luggage on the floor.

Sofia and Mia were working on unpacking her belongings when Olivia came in.

"What is it sweetie?" Olivia asked, suddenly concerned at the way Sofia was staring at her, now empty, school trunk.

"It's over… I just can't believe it"

"Oh yes, it is a bit of a shock realizing you won't be returning to a place you have spent so many years attending"

"Yes, it's quite the shock"

The three continued to unpack Sofia's belongings, taking longer than usual as Sofia showed Mia and her mother what she had bought while shopping with Draco. Then, Sofia handed them their respective presents, setting Caleb's aside for latter.

* * *

Over a week had passed, and Sofia still hadn't heard much from Draco. He had sent her an owl two days earlier, apologizing for not having contacted her yet and promising he would be seeing her soon. She knew, from what her parents had said that Draco was working hard with his father to clean the Malfoy name, and regain the trust of the wizarding community. She was very proud of him, but missed him even more.

She was staying busy too. She had contacted Hermione the day she arrived, and had visited her best friend, Harry and the Weasley's at the Burrow. Harry and Ron had already begun their training as Aurors, but the Hermione and Ginny had decided to go back to Hogwarts and finish their education. Sofia was there for the entire day, as so much had happened in the past year and they had plenty to catch up on. Although they had a good time, they were all still mourning the loss of Fred.

After visiting them, Sofia had gone to the Ministry with her parents every day after and helped in any way she could. She always expected to run into Draco, but for some reason it never happened.

* * *

A few days later, Sofia was pacing her room, too hyped up to unwind. She had replied to Draco's letter, but never heard back. She contemplated writing him again, but decided against it. He was busy, she understood. As it had become a habit, she walked to the window and ran her finger over the petals of the roses. They felt even softer than the regular roses she had touched before. She was so distracted she didn't notice Mia had entered the room until the elf was standing right next to her.

"Young Malfoy is in the fireplace, wishing to see you"

"Which one?" Sofia asked, her heart beating fast.

"Your father's office" Mia said. Sofia was already running out of the room, nearly missing the end of Mia's sentence.

She ran down the stairs, two steps at a time.

"Slow down Sofia" Caleb said, as his daughter exploded into the room.

Sofia continued to run until she was by the fireplace, sliding to a stop right in front of Draco. She didn't even hear the door shut as Caleb left the room.

"I have missed you!" She said sitting crossed leg on the floor so their heads would be on the same level.

"I have missed you as well" Draco said.

They talked for over an hour, catching up on what each other had been doing for the past week.

"Hold on Sofia" He said, disappearing for a moment. Then he was back "I'm sorry, but I must go. I will see you tomorrow night"

"Tomorrow?"

"Yes, your mother has invited me for dinner. I hope that's all right" He joked.

"I reckon it will be ok" she said, trying to play it cool.

"Good night Sofia"

"Good night Draco"

When he was gone, Sofia parents came back in. They spent the next hour or so conversing before going to bed.


	4. Dinners

**As always, anything other ****than** the OC or otherwise cited, belongs to JK.

**Enjoy!**

* * *

"Coming mum" Sofia yelled, as she took one last look at her image in the mirror.

She didn't know why she cared so much as to how she looked tonight, other than the fact she hadn't seen Draco in over a week. But why should she care anyways, they had been inseparable for three whole weeks, which mean he had seen her first thing in the mornings, sweaty after walking around in the summer heat, dressed casually, dressed formally and everything in between.

Her mother called her again, more urgently this time as Draco was already walking from the gate to the house. Sofia looked around her room once more, making sure it was even more clean and organized than usual, before heading downstairs. She stopped next to her parents and watched as Mia opened the door, reveling Draco. Sofia had to fight the urge to run into his arms.

Draco shook hands with Caleb, was hugged by Olivia and finally hugged even tighter by Sofia. After exchanging pleasantries, Olivia told Sofia to show Draco around the house. She and Caleb would be waiting for them at the dining room.

Sofia did. They lived in a two story house and she started with the first floor, leaving out the dining room since they would be returning there soon. Upstairs, she showed him all the rooms, but her parents.

"And here is my room" She said, opening the door and motioning for Draco to go in.

He took a good look around, observing the entire room with much more attention than he did the previous rooms. He was very curious as to how her room looked like.

"Is not as big and elegant as the Manor, I'm sure" She said "But is home"

"Is much warmer. I like it" He said, sitting on the chair by her desk.

"I keep all of your letters on that first drawer"

"You still have them all?"

"Yes… don't you have mine?"

"Yes" he said, with a faint blush.

Draco continued to look around, his eyes finally stopping at a section of the wall, next to her bed, where she had hanged an enormous board and filled it with pictures. He stood up and walked towards the board for a better look. There were several pictures of Sofia by herself or with her parents at different places they had visited, pictures of her with her Beauxbatons friends, a few of her and Hermione, a couple of her and the golden trio, several of them in Paris and all the pictures from the Daily Prophet article of the tournament.

"Why did you keep this one? I look…. Angry" Draco said, staring at their picture.

"That's the only one we had back then, and the only one of us dressed so nice"

"It reminds me of who I used to be, or at that point, who I was pretending to be… I don't really like that person"

"Too bad Draco, I am _not_ throwing it away" She stood up and walked next to him "I'm sorry it bothers you, but think about the person you truly were then and the good times we had in Italy"

"How mad would you be if this photo was to disappear?" He said glancing sideways at her, grinning.

"You don't want to know"

"Nothing I couldn't handle"

"You think too much of yourself Draco Malfoy"

"Only because it's true"

"You are impossible sometimes, did you know?"

"One of my finest traits"

Sofia rolled her eyes just as Draco gently turned her face towards his.

"It's not too late to change your mind…" He joked.

"Yes it is, I am in too deep"

"Is that a bad thing?" He asked, his face inches away from hers.

"I am still deciding" She said, watching his ice cold eyes warm as they met hers.

Their faces were even closer now, as they continued to look into each other's eyes. Draco placed a hand on her cheek, his lips brushing hers.

"Excuse me" said Mia, startling both Sofia and Draco "Dinner is ready, masters are waiting"

Draco and Sofia followed the elf downstairs, both slightly upset at the interruption.

Dinner was a little awkward at first, mainly between Caleb and Draco but thanks to Sofia and Olivia it gradually got better. By the time dessert was served, they were all laughing at Draco, who was telling them about the time Lucius accompanied Fudge to the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts Office, where an out of control garden hose attacked him. He knew his father would kill him if he found out Draco had shared this story, as Lucius had threatened many people into silence before, but he just didn't care.

At some point, the conversation turned to Wizard Chess and Draco ended up challenging Caleb to a match. After a hard earned victory from Draco, Caleb asked for a rematch which he won. Draco asked for a final match, which he lost. Sofia and Olivia watched them play with a smile. It was clear the two were forging a bond. From that day on, Caleb and Draco would always play chess together.

* * *

Two weeks later, Sofia and Draco were at the Leaky Cauldron, enjoying a mug of butterbeer while they waited for everyone else.

"How long do we have to stay" Draco asked, looking at the door.

"There is no set time Draco" Sofia said, rolling her eyes. "It will not be so bad, stop worrying so much"

"I'm not worried. I just don't think this was a good idea. Have you forgotten all that happened between me and them? I wasn't exactly the nicest guy before you came to Hogwarts."

"You already made amends after the battle and they all agreed on giving you a chance. And you know Hermione's been fine with it since before you said anything. It is going to be fine"

Draco nodded, not entirely convinced. This was the first time he would be around Harry, Ron, Ginny and Hermione since the battle. He had run into the boys at the Ministry before, but they simply nodded to each other and continued on their way.

The four arrived together. After hugging Sofia and shaking hands with Draco, they finally sat down and ordered some drinks. Dinner was even more awkward at first than with Sofia's parents, but with great effort from Hermione and Sofia, it got much better after a while. When the conversation turned to Quidditch, Sofia and Hermione tuned them out.

"So, is everything still going good with you and Ron?"

"Yes" Hermione answered, blushing "Neither of us is looking forward to being away while I am at Hogwarts though. After all we have been through and all the time we have spent together, is going to be very different. I just can't even imagine Hogwarts without them"

"At least you won't have anyone coping from your homework, or asking for your help or getting you in trouble. Think about all the time you will have to relax"

"When you put it that way…"

Both girls laughed.

"And how are things with you and Draco?"

"Great! It's nice not having to hide our relationship from everyone else"

The girls continued to chat until eventually the conversation about Quidditch died out. They spent the rest of the night talking about non important things, and didn't even realize how late it was until the owner approached their table to let them know he would be closing in five minutes.

After paying for their food they walked outside together, each couple with an arm around his significant other. After saying their goodbyes, they apparated away to their respective houses, except for Draco, who apparated outside the gate to Sofia's house with her.

"See, it wasn't so bad!" She said, looking up at his face.

"I will admit it went much better than I had expected. Potter and Weasley are not that bad after all"

"Thank you for going, I know you didnt want to"

"I promised I would be around them for you, remember?"

"Yes, but it doesn't change how much I appreciate it."

"You are welcome" He said, kissing the top of her head.

"I better go in before my parents get worried. You would think I'm still a child"

"That's what parents always say about their children. I'll see you soon?"

"Very soon"

They kissed good night and Draco watched her walk to the house. When she reached the front door, she waved back at him. After she had gone in, he apparated home.


	5. St Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladie

**As always, anything other ****than** the OC or otherwise cited, belongs to JK.

**Enjoy!**

* * *

As the weeks passed, things finally calmed down. Sofia and Draco were still helping their parents, Harry and Ron were almost done with their auror training and Hermione and Ginny were back at Hogwarts. Sofia and Draco went to see them off in the morning of September 1st together with Harry and the Weasleys. It was a very strange experience to visit Platform 9 ¾, without getting on the train themselves. Hermione had promised to check with McGonagall if they could come for a visit, something they were looking forward to. Either way, they had already made plans to meet at Hogsmeade later in the year.

As the days passed, Sofia and Draco were growing closer together and falling even more in love. People were gradually coming to terms with their relationship, even Lucius and Caleb. Draco had visited Sofia's house several times, and her family had invited his for dinner a few times.

Likewise, Sofia had also been to the Manor several times, her family also coming for dinner a couple of times.

As October neared an end, both Sofia and Draco became impatient. Even though they didn't mind helping their parents at the Ministry, neither of them wanted to actually work there. They had, in great secrecy, begun to look at other options. So it came as no surprise to Draco when Sofia met him at Diagon Alley later that month, smiling widely, and carrying the section of the Daily Prophet in which jobs were announced.

"Found something you like?" He asked, as she sat down.

"Thank you" She said, grabbing her mug of hot chocolate from him "And yes, I found something we _both_ will like"

"Oh really?" He asked, leaning closer to her with great interest.

"Yes, look"

Sofia flipped the paper open and pointed at the right place. Draco read it over twice before looking up at Sofia again. The job opening was at St. Mungos, for portion brewers.

"I think it would be perfect for you Sofia"

"I agree, but what about you?"

"It probably would be good for me as well, but I don't like it as much as you do. I think I might apply for this one though"

He pointed at another job opening for the hospital. Sofia read it over and then looked at Draco in confusion.

"Since when do you want to be a healer?"

"I had considered it before, a long, long time ago. But then the Dark Lord returned and it didn't seem like I would get a chance. And I don't think my father would have approved of it, he always wanted me to follow in his footsteps"

Sofia was too stunned to say anything, so Draco continued.

"When I went to visit my aunt at the hospital once, when I was still a child, I remember watching the healers work and being fascinated by it. It just seems very interesting"

"I… I uh, never thought you would want a job that requires you to help people like that"

"Like I said, I hadn't given it a thought in a long time. I was certain I would end up a Death Eater"

"I'm glad you didn't"

"All because of you" He said, halfway smiling.

"It wasn't all me. And are you sure you want to give it a try? It looks like you would have to work very long days and deal with some weird stuff" She said, looking over the ad again.

"After seeing the things I did, nothing else can possibly bother me"

Noticing the edge of darkness in his eyes as he spoke of the things he had seen, Sofia was eager to get him talking about the job again.

"Well, then you should apply" She said.

"I don't know Sofia. I don't exactly have any experience, neither am I a much liked wizard"

"Stop using the past as a bloody excuse Draco. If you want to give it a try, then just do it" She looked down at the paper again "And, it says here you _don't_ have to have experience, they will train you"

Draco looked at Sofia, who had a very determined looked on her face. He knew she was not going to let this go, now that she knew it was something he wanted. He just loved that about her.

"Ok then, let's give it a try"

Sofia smiled at him before closing the paper and devoting her attention to her rapidly cooling beverage. They spent the rest of the afternoon going over the details of their trip to St. Mungos and how they were going to tell their families.

* * *

Two days later, they were in a waiting room at St. Mungos, each waiting for their turn to be interviewed. Sofia's parents and Narcissa were absolutely elated about their choices of careers. Lucius, on the other hand, had been visibly disappointed that Draco was not going to work in the Ministry, but agreed on supporting his son's choice.

"Will you please stop that?" Draco whispered to Sofia, putting a hand on her leg.

She had been nervous, unlike her usual self, ever since they had arrived and once they had been told to sit, she had been shaking her left leg, absentmindedly, and it was driving Draco insane.

"I'm sorry" She said, putting her own hand on top of his and proceeding to squeeze it.

"Sofia, look at me. You are going to be fine. I doubt there is anyone better for this job than you. You were tutored by two extraordinary teachers and won several awards during the tournament in Italy"

"I won the awards with your help"

"I thought we had decided you did better than me?"

"I thought you said that wasn't the case?"

"Well, maybe I lied" He said, with a smirk "I like potions and I am good at it. You love potions and have a natural talent for it. It is very different"

"Thank you" She said, squeezing his hand again, this time in an affectionate way. It was amazing how they always knew exactly what to say to make each other feel better.

"Draco Malfoy" A male voice called.

They both turned to see a middle age wizard, with short dark hair waiting for Draco by the hallway.

"Good luck" Sofia whispered when Draco stood up. He waved at her and followed the man.

An entire half an hour passed before another wizard called for Sofia. She followed him into a small office, not far from the waiting room. As she walked after him, she took a couple of deep breaths in the hope of calming herself down, and when she sat across the table from the man, she was ready.

* * *

Both Sofia and Draco felt very confident about their interviews, but after an entire week had passed and neither of them had heard back, they resumed looking for other employment options.

Sofia was the first to receive an owl from St. Mungos. Like Draco had predicted, they had been very impressed with her skills and experience, and would be glad to welcome her as a potions brewer. She was to start the following Monday.

Draco's owl came three days later. He did not get the job as a healer but he was given a job as a healer's assistant, with the chance of becoming a healer in the future. If he chose to accept it, he was to start the very next day.

Draco tried to hide his annoyance at not getting the job he actually wanted, but Sofia noticed. They spent a long time discussing it and in the end, he sent an owl back to St. Mungos accepting the job. Like Sofia, he would undergo a training session for the first two weeks and they would both be working under an experience healer and portion brewer for an undetermined amount of time.

That night, Sofia and her parents were invited to Malfoy Manor for dinner, in celebration of Sofia and Draco's new jobs. True to his old self, Draco kept his walls up, not wanting anyone to realize he still wasn't satisfied. Dinner went better than Sofia and Draco had expected, and it pleased them both how their parents were really trying to be nice, even though they had spent the majority of their lives hating each other.

When it was time for the Smith's to leave, Draco's mood took a turn for the worse, although he still kept it to himself. During their time at Hogwarts, he and Sofia were regularly around each other and after spending almost a year away from her, because of the war, he constantly wished to be around her, as if he needed to make up for the time they had lost.

If Paris had been good for anything, besides the food, it was to show him that he needed Sofia in his life. Not for a few hours on the days they could get together, not for a three week trip, but always. He gulped as he realized what his conclusion was. Of course he had considered it before, after all, he wouldn't have fought for her the way he did if he didn't want to be with her forever.

But tonight, well tonight was different. He was seriously considering it.


	6. There for each other

**As always, anything other ****than** the OC or otherwise cited, belongs to JK.

**Enjoy!**

* * *

Draco opened his eyes and slowly stretched. Looking at the clock on his nightstand, he saw it was six in the morning, time to get up. He had to be at St Mungos in an hour, so he quickly headed for the bathroom.

After showering and getting dressed, he headed to the dining room for a quick breakfast. His mother was already there, but Draco didn't pay her much attention.

"Morning dear" Narcissa said.

"Morning" He said, yawning. He had not slept much, as his mind kept constantly speculating about his future with Sofia.

"Good morning to you too, Draco Malfoy"

Draco was surprised by the voice, even more when he looked up and actually saw Sofia, who was sitting next to his mother, staring at him.

"What? When did you get here?"

"Just a few minutes ago" She answered, spreading grape jelly on a piece of toast.

"Why?"

"It's your fist day. I wanted to see you before you go in"

"Oh"

"Is that ok?"

"Yes, of course" He said, looking down again. He had not expected to see her so soon, especially after all he had been thinking about.

Sofia and Narcissa did most of the talking over breakfast, with Draco occasionally saying something. He took the opportunity to watch the interaction between the two women. He knew Sofia was still fearful of his parents, and unsure that they would ever truly accept her, but she seemed to have a good relationship with them, especially with his mother. He also knew, from some of the things his mother had said and her behavior towards Sofia, that Narcissa approved of her. Draco admired Sofia's determination to make things good between her and his parents, just like he did with her parents.

He continued to watch them as Sofia began to laugh at something Narcissa had said. Draco had always loved the way she laughed and, without noticing, he smiled.

"What it is Draco?" Narcissa asked, noticing how her son was staring at Sofia.

"Nothing" he said, standing up "I am going upstairs for a moment"

Draco left them at the table, still eating their breakfast, and went to his room. He finished getting ready and was about to walk out of the door when his eyes caught sight of something. Turning around, he saw it was a picture of him and Sofia in Paris, on a silver frame. He walked towards it and picked it up.

The Sofia on the picture was smiling widely as the Draco on the picture hugged her from behind, his face less serious than usual but not exactly smiling. Then Sofia looked up and getting on her tiptoes, kissed him on the cheek. Draco responded by kissing her on the top of her head. The real Draco smiled. Taking the picture from the frame, he shrank it and placed it on his jacket pocket.

When it was time for him to leave, Sofia and his mother walked to the gate with him. Narcissa wished him good luck and bade them both farewell before walking back to the house. Sofia and Draco stepped out of the gate, leaving the magical protection of the home so that they could apparate. As soon as his mother was out of sight, Draco wrapped his arms around Sofia.

"It was very nice of you to wake up so early, just to come see me"

"Yes it was. I'm such a good girlfriend" She said, smirking at him.

"Aren't you a little too conceited?"

"Can't help it, I have been around you for too long"

"I'm not conceited, just well aware of how great I am"

"Whatever you say. I hope you have a wonderful first day Draco, owl me tonight please"

"Owl? Can't I just come and see you?"

"Actually, I'll be over at my grandparents with mom"

"Oh"

"How about tomorrow night though? We can go out for dinner?"

"Tomorrow night sounds great"

"Good luck Draco"

"Thank you"

With one last look at each other, they spun in place and apparated away.

* * *

On Sofia's first day, Draco surprised her by coming to eat breakfast at her house. Sofia was glad he did, but gave him a hard time pointing out it was all because of her idea and that he needed to be more original. Draco knew she was only joking but still decided to surprise her somehow, so when Sofia arrived at work on Friday morning she found a parcel wrapped in gift paper.

She quickly tore the paper to reveal a book. The book, which was very thick, but surprisingly light, was about the art of potion brewing for healers use and was written by one of the first recognized healers of the wizarding world. Sofia had heard about it but never gotten around to buying it. She opened the book and her jaw dropped. It was signed by the author and when she flipped the pages, she noticed it was all written on the same hand writing. She put down the book and reached for Draco's letter, which had fallen out of the parcel when she opened it.

**Sofia,**

**This book is one of five still existing that was originally handwritten by the author. I would write "I hope you like it" but I am sure you did.**

**If you are wondering why, the answer is because I love you! And because I think you will be the best potions brewer St. Mungus will ever have. **

**Draco Malfoy**

Sofia read his note one more time before finally putting it down. She couldn't believe he had done that! She wasn't even sure how he managed it, after all, the book was probably tremendously expensive and hard to get. She immediately sat down and wrote him a letter, to be delivered magically like it was done at the Ministry.

She spent the rest of the day anxiously waiting the end of their shifts, so she could go and thank him personally.

* * *

Sofia and Draco finished their training with high praises from everyone they had trained under. As they began to work under the tutelage of their supervisors, both were determined to show all they had learned during their training. Draco ended up having a harder time than Sofia, because his job required that he interacted with patients, many of which were still scared, angry or suspicious of anyone with the Malfoy surname, but he did not let it discourage him.

As the days passed, the pressure grew for both of them. As much as they loved where they worked, both of their jobs carried a huge responsibility and they worked long hours, Draco especially. Harry and Ron were also under a lot of pressure, as they were trying to find and capture the remaining followers of the Dark Lord. As such, they were all in need of a break and quickly accepted Hermione and Ginny's invitation in early December. On the day before Hogwarts closed for the holidays, they traveled to Hogsmeade and from there to their old school.

* * *

The first thing they did upon arriving at the school was joining Hermione and Ginny for breakfast at the Great Hall. For the first time in history, as far as anyone could remember, a Slytherin sat at the Gryffindor table. When it was time for the girls to go to class, the boys headed for the Quidditch field, while Sofia accompanied Hermione to Ancient Runes and Ginny went to Transfiguration.

They met again for lunch and all the boys could talk about was how much they had missed flying, how Harry and Draco let the snitch loose and competed to find it (Harry won) and how Harry and Draco took turns throwing the quaffle at Ron, who was guarding the hoops. The girls were very proud of them for spending that time together, although Draco was still furious from having lost to Harry again.

Afterwards Sofia visited the Gryffindor common room with Harry and Ron. Draco refused to go in; his Slytherin pride wouldn't let him, so he waited outside the Fat Lady's Portrait until they were done. Then, he quickly visited the Slytherin common room with Sofia, who was more than curious about how it looked like and had no concerns about her Gryffindor pride. After dinner, they all headed to Hagrid's where they spent the remainder of the night.

The following morning, Sofia and Draco visited Snape's old office, which was currently empty as professor Slughorn was the only one teaching potions and he already had an office. They also stopped at their old potions room, where they stayed for a while reminiscing in the past. Lastly, they all visit McGonagall in her office and spoke with Professors Dumbledore and Snape's portraits.

Before the train was to leave, Sofia and Draco visited the meadow in the Forbidden Forest.

"I really wish we could visit this place more often" Sofia said, looking around in recollection.

"That would be good"

"I'm afraid this might be it though. They don't usually let non students come and visit"

"I would like to come back at least one more time"

"Me too… Are you ever going to tell anyone else about this place? Like, you know, your kids? I would hate for it to be forgotten"

Draco looked at her in surprise, partially because he hadn't thought about it and partially because she said "your kids" not ours.

"I suppose so" He finally said, looking around.

"That wouldn't make you a very responsible dad though, after all, students are not supposed to come here" She said, smiling.

"Malfoys don't follow rules, unless we want to"

"Potters and Weasleys apparently don't either"

"Well observed"

"Draco?"

"Yes"

"Will you promise me something?"

"Am I always going to keep promising you things?" He joked.

"Perhaps"

"Ok, what is it?"

"Will you bring me here one more time, before we pass it on to the next generation?"

_We_ he thought with a smile. Walking towards her, he wrapped his arms tightly around her and looked down into her green eyes.

"I promise"

They kissed passionately while holding each other. This place, once a sanctuary to Draco, had become an especial place for both him and Sofia. He never thought a place could mean so much to him.

* * *

The ride back to London went by entirely too fast. To Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny, it was just like the old times. To Sofia, it was a nice reminder of the year she spent at Hogwarts and to Draco it was an entirely different experience.

* * *

**I really hate how I can have different fonts for Draco's letter. The one I chose on the word documents just suits him so much (in my opinion) and makes it much more personal! But that's besides the point I guess. I hope you enjoyed the chapter and his sweet gesture!**


	7. Christmas

**As always, anything other ****than** the OC or otherwise cited, belongs to JK.

**Enjoy!**

* * *

Christmas this year was remarkably different to Sofia. For starters, she was actually home and not staying in France. She spent an entire weekend helping Olivia decorated their house and the Christmas tree, one Caleb had magically cut and transported from the forest by their house and couldn't have been happier.

But not only was she to visit her family with her parents, as they always did, they had also been invited to the Manor and the Burrow. To make matters even more complicated, both Sofia and Draco were schedule to work the morning and part of the afternoon on December twenty fifth.

In the end, Sofia and her parents had lunch with Olivia's family and dinner with Caleb's on the twenty fourth. In between those visits, they stopped briefly at the Burrow. On the following day, Sofia and her parents opened the presents together, early in the morning before she left for work. Sofia's shift ended an hour before Draco's but she continued to work, helping the incoming brewers. When both she and Draco were done at St Mungus, they headed together to the Manor.

* * *

Caleb and Olivia were already there, enjoying drinks and appetizers with Narcissa and Lucius, when they arrived. Because they were both tired and hungry after their long day, they decided to eat before opening the presents. Sofia had always imagined the Manor to be either not decorated, or with very little decorations, but she was surprise to see that not only was it decorated but it rivaled even Hogwarts decorations. Everything was in the Slytherin colors, but it did not take away from the overall beauty of it.

Although there were only six of them, there was enough food for a small crowd. An enormous turkey sat at the very center of the table. On each side of the turkey were gooses. Other dishes on the table included Brussels sprouts, carrots, roasted potatoes, cranberry sauce, bread sauce, and turkey gravy. Sofia's stomach growled as she smelled the food and she blushed when her eyes met Draco's and he laughed at her, right before his own stomach growled as well.

Everyone's plates where full within instants. The conversation died out as they were too busy chewing. By the time dessert was served, the conversation picked back up, mainly between their parents as Sofia and Draco were too busy eating traditional Christmas pudding, their favorite Christmas dessert. When all plates were empty and they could eat no more, everyone followed Lucius back to the Christmas tree.

The Malfoys gave Caleb and Olivia a painting of Paris and gave Sofia a painting of Beauxbatons, both done by a famous French wizard painter. The Smiths gave them each a dark green cloak and gave Draco a book about the history of the Healers. Draco gave Sofia black diamond earrings that matched her necklace and Sofia gave him a special watch that would keep track of his patients and when Draco needed to stop by and see them, a present he was absolutely elated to receive.

After they were done exchanging presents, Draco led Sofia outside to the lake behind the Manor. After they both had on their skates, he helped her onto the ice.

"Our first Christmas together" He said skating next to her, holding her hand.

"Yes, the first of many" She said, glancing at him with a smile.

"Without a doubt"

"Amazing how different things were this time, last year…"

"Very much so. I'm glad those days are over, for good"

"Me too, don't know how much longer I could have gone like that, away from everyone"

"I'm not sure how much longer I would have gone either, but I would like to think that, for you, I could have waited forever"

Sofia's heart skipped a beat and she stopped skating, placing herself in front of him.

"I love you Draco Malfoy, so very much"

"I love you too Sofia, more and more with each passing day"

Before long, they were in each other's arm, kissing. They lost track of time as they alternated between skating and kissing but eventually, one of the Manor's elves came to call them. Sofia and Draco walked back inside to find their parents finishing a cup of firewhiskey in the study.

"Draco, will you please play us something?" Narcissa asked, the moment her son came in.

Draco nodded and walked towards the piano. Before sitting down, he motioned Sofia to come over and he only began playing once she was seated next to him. After playing a couple of songs by himself, he asked Sofia if she would like to play something with him. As they played, their parents sat on the comfortable chairs around the fireplace.

"They look so happy" Olivia said, smiling at Draco and Sofia who were oblivious to their surrounding as they played.

"I still find it hard to believe they carried on for years without any of us knowing. I noticed a change in Draco when he came home for Christmas during their sixth year, even though he tried to hide it, but I would never guess it was because of her" Narcissa said.

"I caught him looking at her during the Ministry's Christmas Party but he said he was looking at someone else. Sneaky as always" Lucius joined in.

"I didn't take her so seriously when she first told us about them" Caleb said "but as the days passed…. I had never seen her so sad before. It was like part of her was missing and she wasn't the same again until the battle was over and they reunited"

"Draco wasn't the same during that time either. I had thought it was because of, well, everything that took place during those months which in part it was, but after he told Lucius and I about them, it all made sense"

"I would never have picked her for him" Lucius said "but in the end, I am glad they found each other. Sofia is good for him… he needed her"

Caleb, Olivia and Narcissa looked at Lucius in amazement. He had been much better towards Sofia and her relationship with Draco as the months went by, but this was the very first time he said something like that.

"Thank you" Caleb said, feeling proud of his daughter for making such a difference "Draco is good for her as well. Both of them, like Potter and all those who went through so much at such a young age, have seen and done things beyond their years. And yet, they have proven to be stronger than any of us could have hoped for"

The others nodded, and they resumed watching Draco and Sofia. After another round of firewhiskey and three more songs played by Draco, the Smiths stood up to leave.

After they were gone, Draco whished his parents good night and went to his room. He shut the door behind him and walked towards the bed, ready to flop down, when he noticed something in it. He opened the parcel, his jaw dropping. In his hands was a collage of several pictures of him, working at St Mungus. Draco looked at the pictures in amusement, wondering when and who had taken those pictures. There were several of him alone, of him with other healers and of him tending to patients, although you couldn't see their faces, for privacy reasons. The only picture he remembered being taken was the one of him and Sofia, the day they finished training.

He reached for the letter next to the parcel

**Draco,**

**I know you have been worried about people judging you because of who you used to be, so I wanted you to see the difference you are making in people's lives. The other healers were very eager to help me with this project, and it was with their help that I could put this collage together.**

**If ever you doubt yourself or your place in this world, besides coming to me for comfort, look at these pictures and remember that you are just as an important part of this world as the other people in it. More important, if you ask me.**

**I love you, always have and always will.**

**Sofia**

He put down the letter and reached for the collage, studying it a lot closer this time. The longer he looked at it, the more he could recognize, like the day he helped an experienced healer treat the baby on the left corner, or the first time he watched a potions brewer help a healer administer the potion to patient picture on the far right.

Draco put down the collage, suddenly overwhelmed with happiness and gratitude. Sofia had gone beyond herself to make sure he knew just how important he was and to help him fight his demons. She truly was the most amazing person in his life and he wanted her, all of her, forever.

On that night, Draco made his final decision. He only needed to figure out the perfect time and place, but he was ready to make Sofia his, once and for all.

* * *

**Hello! I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter as much as I did, I had such a great time writing it! As you can see, we are getting closer to the second (i consider their jobs the first) milestone in their lives, and I just cant wait!**

**I haven't started on chapter eight yet, I have been working on seven and the chapter following the very first one I wrote. Once I get chapters eight and probably nine done, I will finally be able to post those two! Slowly but surely getting there!**

**I hope you have a great day and thanks for reading!**

**x (:**


	8. Preparations

**As always ****anything other ****than** the OC or otherwise cited, belongs to JK.

**Please enjoy!**

* * *

The new year came bringing a tremendous amount of work for both Draco and Sofia. As the weeks passed by, quickly turning into months, they continued to advance on their jobs and were consequently given more and more responsibilities.

That year they all returned to Hogwarts for the one year anniversary of the Battle of Hogwarts, celebrating Voldemort's defeat while still mourning those who perished. Soon after Hermione and Ginny had completed their studies and left Hogwarts. Ginny joined a professional Quidditch Team and Hermione went to work for the Ministry. In between everything else, they celebrated many birthdays and the news of Fleur's pregnancy. Before they knew it, it was Christmas again and just a few days later, yet another year had begun.

* * *

In early March, Draco was given the job as a Healer, and no longer worked under someone. Just a few days after his promotion, Sofia was promoted as well. Her passion and natural talent never ceased to impress all those whom she worked with. Draco had been so pleased he had taken Sofia on a weekend trip to a wizarding community in Northern Ireland to celebrate. Both had enjoyed the trip more than anticipated as it was their first time away by themselves since Paris, almost two years ago.

Their busy schedules and exhausting hours had pushed Draco's plans for a proposal to the back of his mind and when he had finally decided on where, when and how he was going to ask her, he realized he would have to wait even longer. The time and place had to be just right, something it wouldn't be till the end of the year. Having decided all that, he turned his attention to the next two major things: the ring and asking Caleb for Sofia's hand.

Many years ago, when Draco was much too young to be thinking about marriage, his parents had shown him the Malfoy jewels and told him he could have any of the rings, or other jewelry, for his future wife. Of all the options, only one had seemed right to him at the time but it was no longer the case. He was certain Sofia would not care for a ring with an emerald traced by two snakes, no matter how sumptuous. He would have to find her ring somewhere else, or even have it custom made. He knew his parent were still in touch with the man who had made Sofia's black rose necklace, so he decided to finally tell them about his plans and ask for their assistance in contacting the man.

The night Draco told his parents he was going to ask Sofia to marry him, both his parents surprised him by uttering the words "At last!" before saying anything else. Draco had been so shocked by their response it took him a minute to collect himself. Once he did, he told them about Sofia's love for black diamonds, how the color black was their favorite and how he wanted to have a ring especially made for her.

As he spoke, his father stood up and retrieved a piece of parchment, a feather and some ink from the desk and began writing even as Draco was still talking. When Draco questioned him, Lucius handed him the paper and Draco read the letter his father had written to Mr. Alexander, the man responsible for the Malfoy jewelry. In the letter, Lucius requested that Mr. Alexander came to the mansion as soon as his schedule would allow, for a very especial request. Lucius then summoned a house elf and ordered the elf to send the letter immediately.

Once that was settled, Narcissa questioned Draco as to when and where he would propose, but he refused to tell them, proceeding instead to ask Lucius how he had asked his father in law for Narcissa's hand in marriage. He was fairly certain of what he was going to tell Mr. Smith, but he still wanted to hear from his father.

* * *

Alexander arrived at the Malfoy Manor two days later, keen to find out what the especial request was. He was a very talented man who enjoyed creating jewelry master pieces, especially for people like the Malfoys who had the money and materials for his services. His meeting with Draco and his parents lasted over an hour, as he asked Draco to describe Sofia, her personality and their relationship. He always believed in knowing the person he was going to create something for, as it was important for the jewelry to reflect that person.

He was very excited about this request, especially once Draco told him the black rose necklace he had created so many years ago was a present to the same lady in question. He was absolutely delighted when Draco also asked him to create the wedding bands. Alexander left with the promise of having the perfect engagement ring by the end of the summer and the two wedding rings by the end of the year.

With the rings taken care of, Draco turned his attention to the remaining issue, asking Caleb. After much deliberation, he invited Mr. Smith to the Manor on a rainy Sunday night at the end of May, with the pretense of discussing Ministry business with him and Lucius. When Caleb arrived, Lucius and Narcissa greeted him before taking Mr. Smith to Lucius' study, where Draco was already waiting for him.

Draco was staring at the ring, inside a black velvet box, when he heard them approaching the study. Quickly, he shrunk the box and placed it inside his pocket, together with the picture of him and Sofia he always carried with him. He watched as his parents told Mr. Smith Draco was the one who wished to speak to him, before leaving and shutting the door behind them.

Draco stood up and shook hands with his future father in law, glad the man couldn't hear his hearth beating out of control. Draco was very proud of his self-control and cool demeanor, but he was having a hard time maintaining his ice cold control. He took a couple of deep breaths, preparing himself.

"Everything ok Draco?" Caleb asked, noticing how the young man was.

"Yes sir. I am afraid this meeting will not be about what you were told."

"I see… will it be about my daughter?"

"Yes sir"

"Very well, and you don't need to be so nervous Draco. I knew this day was coming."

Draco looked at Caleb, studying the man with great care. He knew how much Caleb loved his daughter and how important she was to him, and even though he had expected Caleb to be scary and intimidating with the man about to ask for his daughter's hand, Caleb was neither. That gave Draco the confidence he needed.

"Well then, as you know, I have loved your daughter for many years now and her happiness and safety are my number one priority. I cannot imagine my life without her and wish to make her my wife. Do I have your permission to ask Sofia to marry me?"

"I have dreaded this day from the moment we found out Olivia was pregnant with a baby girl. I am sure you will understand my feelings someday, if you and Sofia have a daughter…. I have always believed no man would ever be good enough for my little girl, that no man would ever be able to love her and protect her the way I do. Of course we love her in very different ways, but I have seen in you the kind of person my daughter deserves and you have proven yourself capable of protecting her. I will not lie and say I have always approved of you Draco, and you know that, but with each passing day you continue to show us all that you are a good, trust wordy man. You have mine and Olivia's permission to marry Sofia"

"Thank you Mr. Smith. I promise to make her the happiest woman alive and to keep her safe no matter the cost"

"I know you will Draco, but my warnings of before still stand. Don't hurt my little girl"

"I will not, Sir"

"Good, now tell me, how soon will this be?"

"Late November, I hope"

"November? I'm assuming you have a reason as to why wait so long… Is it the ring?"

"No sir, I already have her ring. It's about the weather"

"The weather?"

"Yes sir. I'm sorry but I can say anything else about it. It will all make sense later"

"Very well. I guess you won't show me the ring either?"

"No sir, I want Sofia to be, besides me and the man who designed it, the first one to see it"

"I was like that with Olivia's ring as well. Tell me something Draco, have you told your parents yet?"

"Yes, I told them a couple of months ago. I have spent my time since then on the ring and in preparation to our conversation"

"I see Sofia and I were successful in scaring you" Caleb joked.

"I wasn't scared Mr. Smith, just unusually nervous"

"Which is perfectly fine. Just wait until your wedding day or when you have kids"

Draco shrugged, causing Caleb to laugh. Soon after, a small house elf came in bringing a tray with tea and cookies. Draco asked the elf to call his parents and a few minutes later, they came in.

When Caleb was done with his tea, he stood up to leave and Draco walked him to the Manor's gates.

"I am trusting you with the most precious thing in my life Draco Malfoy. Don't make me regret this decision" Caleb said, suddenly more serious than he had been all night

"I won't"

Caleb nodded, wished Draco a good night and crossed the magical barrier. Draco watched as he apparated home, unable to move. He had permission to ask Sofia to marry him, both of their families supported them and it was only a matter of time before November arrived… and he could not wait for the day.

* * *

**Well guys, we are slowly but surely getting there! I haven't started writing the next chapter yet, but I have plenty of ideas as to how he is going to pop the question! I just cant wait!**

**I hope I didn't upset anyone with waiting a year before Draco got around to preparing for his engagement but I just couldn't have it happen so quickly. I wanted to give the characters the time to grow and mature, even if I didn't explore it, before making such a huge decision.**

**Please let me know what you think so far! I really appreciate your input ( :**

**x**


	9. To make you mine

**As always, anything other than the OC or otherwise cited, belongs to JK.**

* * *

Draco and Sofia were given two full weeks of in early October and they spent the first week almost entirely with each other. Sofia decided to spend the second week at Pauline's house in France, visiting all her friends and Draco decided to ask McGonagall to visit Hogwarts and use the school's library for some work related research. He was currently helping an older healer study possible variations for a few spells and the library at Hogwarts had many books on the subject.

On the day Draco left for Hogwarts, Sofia met Hermione for lunch at the Leaky Caldron. Both had been so busy in the past few months it was the first time they had been able to meet alone. The owner, Tom, was delighted to have one of Harry Potter's best friends at his establishment and provided them with the best table and service. The girls spent the good part of an hour chatting over butterbeer before even deciding to order.

"and Mrs. Leila will be assisting me with the creation of the new laws. It's been a lot of work but magical creatures need someone to fight for their interests" Hermione said.

"I would like to help" Sofia offered, having joined S.P.E.W during her year at Hogwarts.

"I will let you know when everything is set"

"Brilliant! And how are Harry and Ron, I haven't seen them in such a"

"Well look who we have here" a female voice interrupted Sofia "Ms. Know-it-all and Draco's current love interest who is also a Know-it-all."

Both Sofia and Hermione looked up.

"What do you want Parkinson?" Sofia said, matching the girl's disdainful tone.

"Oh, nothing in particular. Just wondering how much longer it will take for Draco to finally realize he was mistaken and go back to his usual self. You can't possible believe he loves you. You are just another game to him, a game he will eventually grow tired of."

"You are bonkers" Sofia said, rolling her eyes.

"You better enjoy it while you can Smith, because one day soon Draco will come to realize just how wrong he was and he will leave you. Draco belongs with people like me, not with you and the _golden trio_"

"If you are done with all this nonsense, we are trying to eat lunch" Hermione said in a hard tone.

"Stay out of this mudblood" Pansy warned, a little too loudly, scorning at Hermione.

Several people around them gasped at Pansy and then again as Sofia stood up, drawing her wand and pointing it straight at Parkinson's face.

"Don't you _ever_ call Hermione that in front of me again" Sofia said in a calm tone, but her eyes were on fire and it was clear to everyone she was extremely angry "Or I will make sure it will be the very last thing you will ever say"

"Is that threat, Smith?"

"Unquestionably"

"Sofia don't, she isn't worth the trouble" Hermione said, holding her own wand under the table, just in case.

The girls acted as if they hadn't heard Hermione as they continued to stare at each other. Finally, after a few tense minutes, Pansy broke off their eye contact and looked around the room. People were staring at them, some clearly upset with Pansy's word choice while others eyed Sofia's wand a little unease.

"He is only pretending, it will not last" She said in one last attempt to hurt Sofia.

"I think it is time for you to leave" Sofia said.

"Quite so. This place evidently has poor standards"

"Smashing*! Of you go!"

Pansy shot one last angry look at Sofia before turning and leaving the room. Sofia waited a few minutes after she had left before putting her wand away and sitting down. As soon as she did, Tom approached them to make sure they were ok.

"I'm sorry" Sofia said to Hermione after Tom left.

"Why?"

"This was supposed to be a nice lunch"

"Sofia, you had no way of knowing she was going to be here"

"I know, but I still shouldn't have lost my nerve so easily. I just _hate_ that stupid word"

"Me too. Thanks, by the way."

"Sure…"

The rest of their lunch went on uneventfully. After they had caught up on how the boys were doing, they went back to discussing their jobs and then Sofia's upcoming trip to France. After lunch, the girls leisurely walked down Diagon Alley, stopping to by new books and to visit Gorge.

* * *

Sofia hadn't been home for a whole hour when Mia informed her that Draco was in the fireplace waiting to speak to her. She headed to her father's study, where she found Caleb and Olivia chatting with Draco.

"Hi" She said, joining them "How's Hogwarts?"

"Different" He said "I don't recognize many of the students and it... well… just doesn't feel the same"

"Do you have to sleep at the Slytherin common room?"

"No, I asked for professor Snape's old office. It's still not being used"

"Oh, I suppose it's quieter"

"It is. I checked out several books from the library and plan on starting on my research tomorrow"

"What have you been doing the whole day then?"

"Walking around, visiting Professor Snape, looking for the books… many things really. Blaise also visited me, in the fireplace just a few minutes ago"

"Sounds like you have been busy"

"You as well, from what I was told"

"What are you talking about?"

"The story I heard was that you jinxed Pansy and she had to seek treatment at St. Mungus"

Sofia groaned while everyone else laughed. She knew what had happened at the Leaky Caldron would spread around soon, but she had underestimated just how fast.

"I _did not_ jinx her, although she well deserved it"

"Care to tell us what really happened? I am sure it wasn't anything as exciting as the rumors going around, but I promise not to be bored" Draco teased.

"Shut it Malfoy."

"C'mon Sofia"

She looked at her parents and then back at Draco before finally telling them. They were all just as mad at Pansy's behavior and the word she called Hermione, but Draco was infuriated at the things she had said about him.

"If I had been there, she _would_ have been jinxed" He said when Sofia was done.

"I doubt she would have said anything if you were there"

"I am not surprise she acted that way" Caleb said "Her family's lost credibility in the wizarding community after the Battle and she lost Draco"

They continued to discuss Pansy a little longer before changing the subject to something more enjoyable. When it was time for Draco to leave, Olivia and Caleb left the room to give them some privacy. Sofia and Draco talked for a while longer before wishing each other good night.

Sofia went back to her room and finished packing her belongings. In less than twelve hours the portal key to Pauline's house would activate, so Sofia changed and went to bed, anxious for an entire week in France.

* * *

Draco and Sofia were both surprised at just how much they had missed work. The fast pace and challenges of each day made up for the long, exhausting hours As the days passed and November grew closer, Draco also continued to work on the last details of his proposal to Sofia.

When November finally arrived, Draco asked Sofia to accompany him to Hogwarts on the last Tuesday of the month. He wanted to look over one more book, which he could have already done, but he needed an excuse to visit Hogwarts with her on that day. While Draco finished his research, Sofia visited professor Slughorn to discuss the brewing of a few specific potions. When he was done, Draco met with them and watched as they worked, occasionally offering some help. Afterwards, they had dinner in the Great Hall and stopped by McGonagall's office before heading to the castle's grounds.

As they walked towards the meadow, Sofia found herself wanting to turn around. Dealing with the idea of visiting that place for the very last time was proving to be harder than she anticipated. Draco was feeling much the same, but he had had months to prepare for it.

Snow was falling when they arrived. The entire place, save for the area under the tree which was magically protected, was white with snow. It reminded Sofia of the very first time Draco had taken her there. They wasted no time putting on their skates and getting on the lake. While they skated, Sofia looked around trying to memorize every detail of the place and her eyes eventually fell on Draco. He was skating ahead of her seeming lost in his own thoughts but as if he had felt her watching him, he turned around and caught her eyes.

_I think I felt my heart skip a beat, _Sofia thought, watching as he skated towards her, _I'm standing here and I can hardly breathe… you got me. _When he was close enough Draco reached for her hand. _The way you take my hand is just so sweet, and that crooked smile of yours it knocks me off my feet**, _she thought as he grabbed her hand and continued to skate next to her. They skated in silence as both continued to take in as much as they could about the meadow. When the snow began to fall a little harder, they left the lake for the warmth of the tree, where they sat down for a mug of hot chocolate.

"Do you know what today is?" Draco asked, breaking the silence.

Sofia nodded. "The day we met at the astronomy tower, three years ago"

Draco smiled, halfway surprised she remembered and halfway surprised at himself from doubting she would.

"It was the day you agreed on giving me another chance… the day that changed everything"

They looked at each other, beaming. That day had marked a new beginning to them and would forever hold a special meaning in their lives.

"I wanted to bring you here for the last time on an especial day. And I want tonight to be even more especial" He said, standing up and offering Sofia his hand.

After helping her up, he walked her to the other side of the tree trunk. On that spot, several of the tree's roots could be seen, but something looked different tonight. The roots seemed fuzzy, as if Sofia was seeing them through a window. Taking out his wand, Draco waved it and the fuzziness disappeared. In its place were the real roots, and in between them was a bush of black roses, knee high and full of roses that had yet to bloom. Sofia gasped and looked at Draco for an explanation.

"I wanted to leave our mark here, and this was the only thing I could think of. This bush will grow on its own, but at a much slower rate than any other plant. It might take a couple of years for it to grow a few inches"

"Draco I… I have no words"

"I'm not even done yet. Take out your wand and do as I say"

Sofia raised an eyebrow at him. The excitement in his voice was almost palpable. He instructed her on how to pronounce the spell and together, they wrote their names in silver ink, on the very base of the main stem. Sofia was very excited about the idea and added a few lines and designs around their names, framing it.

"How did you do this? And when?" Sofia asked, once they were done.

"I worked on it the week I was here, in October. The spell was very similar to the one I used to create your roses, but I made a few changes so that it could survive out here on its own"

"I love it, it's perfect!"

"There is one more thing. The bush is currently on a frozen state and the only way for it to revive is with your touch"

"What?"

"See this over here?" He asked, pointing to the center of the bush "Touch it"

Sofia did, and she had barely moved her hand away when it began to bloom. In just a few seconds, she was staring at a beautiful rose.

"What is that?" She asked, pointing at a small black dot inside the flower.

"Why don't you grab it?" He asked, barely able to contain his emotions. His heart was beating so fast he halfway expected Sofia to question him about it.

She grabbed the tinny dot and placed it on the palm of her hand. When the dot began to grow into its regular size, Sofia jumped nearly dropping the box. When it was done growing, Sofia tore her eyes away from it and locked them on Draco's. He smiled at the shock in her eyes and watched as realization hit her.

Taking the box from her, he got down on one knee. He laughed as both of Sofia's hands flew to her mouth and her eyes grew even wider. He guessed her heart was beating just as fast as his was.

"Sofia, from the very moment we first met you have known me, the real me, better than anyone else… sometimes even myself. When I ended things between us, blinded by the ideas my father had embedded in me, I was certain I had lost you forever. But you never gave up on me and I realized that the day I saw you grab your necklace. Ever since that day, you have been my only light in a world of darkness, guiding me in a way only you could ever do. On the night we first kissed, I knew I never wanted to kiss anyone else and even though it took me a while to realize just how important you are and how far I was willing to go for you, I plan on spending the rest of my life reminding you of that, and then some."

Sofia's eyes were filled with tears, and even though her hands were still covering her mouth, Draco could see that she was smiling. Opening the box with great care, he took a deep breath before continuing.

"I hope you will do me the honor of spending your life with me, of being my wife and a mother to my kids… Sofia Ann Smith, will you marry me?"

Silence followed as Sofia nodded her head, seeming unable to speak.

"_Yes" _She finally, said, her voice almost a whisper "I will marry you"

Draco's smile grew even wider as he took the ring from the box and placed it on her left finger. He kissed her hand and stood up, nearly been knocked to the ground as Sofia lunched herself in his arms. She wrapped her arms tightly around him and he wrapped his around her as well.

"I can't believe it" She said, mainly to herself, bringing her left hand closer to her face. "It is gorgeous!"

The ring had a large, squared with round edges, black diamond at its center. Around it were a band of smaller black diamonds, then two bands of regular diamonds that also adorned the sides of the ring. The remainder of the ring was made entirely of white gold. The stones balanced each other to create a sumptuous, yet simple ring.

"I'm glad you like it. It was done by the very same man that created your necklace and the black diamond from both came from the same stone. He is also currently doing our wedding rings"

Sofia nodded, still staring down at her hand and trying to convince herself this was actually happening. Gently, Draco turned her face towards his and looked deep into her green eyes.

"I love you" He said "and I can't wait to see you walking down the aisle"

"I love you too. And you will have to wait a while"

"I know, but it won't matter. Soon enough, you will be my wife"

He kissed her on the forehead and then on the lips. Suddenly, Sofia tensed and pulled back.

"Please tell me you asked for my father's permission?"

"C'mon Sofia, of course I did"

"Good" She said, relaxing again "How was it?"

She laughed as Draco told her about the night Caleb came over, how nervous he was and how everything turned out fine. They continued to talk for a while longer, both wanting to prolong their time at the meadow, but as the snow began falling even harder, they knew it was time to leave. As they reached the edge of the meadow, they took one final look around, before turning and stepping back into the forest. When the trees guarding the entrance were back to normal, Draco pulled out his wand and casted a series of spells.

"There" He said once he was done, putting away his wand and reaching for Sofia's hand "I have locked this place until one of our children casts the same spell we have always used to get in. No one without our blood will be able to perform the spell and come in, unless given permission, like I did with you during our sixth year"

Leaving behind the meadow marked the end of period to them, Draco especially. The meadow represented a place where he came to hide from the outside world and be himself, but he no longer had to hide. With Sofia by his side, he was more than ready to take a step into the next period of his life, one that promised to be much better than he could have ever hoped for.

* * *

*British "Terrific"

**Colbie Caillat – You Got Me

**The picture of the ring I chose for Sofia can be seen on my profile. Feel free to check it out ( :**

**x**


	10. The daughter she never had

**As always, anything other than the OC or otherwise cited, belongs to JK. **

* * *

Sofia closed the door and leaned against it, breathing heavily. She had been at Malfoy Manor many times before, but never without Draco. She knew there was no reason to worry, no one would ever hurt her here, yet she couldn't help feeling unease.

_Draco will be back soon, _she thought, replaying their conversation in her head.

Before leaving with his father to take care of some emergency business, he had stopped by to see her at the guest room she was using for the day. He promised to be back in time for the party, assured her his house elves would assist her in anything she needed and informed her that his mother was on her way up to bring Sofia's dress for the night. Mrs. Malfoy had insisted on choosing Sofia's outfit and, for some reason, was keeping it a secret.

Sofia and Draco were very appreciative that his parents had offer the Manor for their engagement party, although neither of them actually wanted a party to begin with. Narcissa however, insisted on it and even Sofia's parents seemed to think it was appropriate, leaving Draco and Sofia with no other option. Draco seemed to think that the reasoning behind the party was his parent's continuous aspiration to clean the Malfoy's name and regain respect, even though much of that had already happened, but he also hinted at something else, though he never elaborated on it. Neither of them had helped much with preparations for the past two months, as Narcissa with some help from Olivia, took care of everything. Narcissa had planned many parties at the Manor before and she was more than qualified.

Sighing once more, Sofia pushed all unwanted thoughts out of her mind and walked to the bathroom. She had a long, warm shower and had completely lost track of time until a faint knock on the bathroom door startled her. Reluctantly, she turned off the water, dried of and put on a thick robe before stepping back into the room. The place was empty, but a dress was left hanging on the wardrobe's door, with matching shoes on the floor next to it.

Sofia walked until she stood facing the dress. The top of the dress, a corset, was covered with diamonds all the way up to the straps that would tie behind her neck. Two not very wide stripes of fabric circled around it, just below the chest, inches apart from each other, displaying the diamonds in between. Below the second stripe, the dress fell loosely. Sofia touched the fabric; it was silk, and very expensive by the looks of it. It was simple, yet very elegant. Taking a few steps back, Sofia looked over the dress again.

"A dress fit for the Slytherin Princess" She said, smirking at the dress which was a deep shade of royal green.

Truthfully, she love it, but she was not very happy with the color choice. It wasn't because she didn't like the green of the fabric or the silver of the diamonds, but because she felt like this was about Slytherin pride more than about her engagement party. With yet another sigh, she got dressed.

A few minutes later, Sofia was sitting on a beautiful and elaborate vanity, working on her hair, when someone knocked on the door.

"You may come in" She said, already knowing who it was.

Narcissa walked into the room with a confident stride. She was dressed in all black, with lesser diamonds on her dress, but still looking majestic. Even from a distance, Sofia could tell her dress was also made of silk and also very expensive. It was amazing how much money the Malfoys had.

Sofia stood up and did a full turn so that Narcissa could see the dress on her. When Sofia stopped, the other witch nodded in approval.

"Thank you Mrs. Malfoy, this dress is beautiful" Sofia said, sitting down and continuing to work on her hair. "Actually, thank you for everything; it was very nice of you to do this for us"

"You are welcome. I have been waiting for his engagement party for a long time" She said, watching Sofia brush her hair. "May I?" She asked, extending her hand.

Sofia froze, uncertain she understood her correctly. A few seconds passed before she finally handed Narcissa the brush. As soon as she had the brush, Narcissa began to comb Sofia's hair.

Sofia sat in silence, but inside, her mind was racing. If someone had ever told her that one day Narcissa Malfoy would be combing her hair, she would have accused the person of having one too many glasses of firewhiskey. Yet here she was, sitting at Malfoy Manor, less than an hour before her engagement party to Draco Malfoy started, while his mother combed her hair. Something in Sofia's face must have given her thoughts away, because Narcissa looked down at her image in the mirror with a curious expression.

"Something wrong?" She asked, still watching Sofia attentively.

"No… I just… never expected to have you comb my hair" Sofia said, blushing.

"From the very first day I met Lucius, I knew he was the one for me, and after we got married, I couldn't wait to start a family. I always wanted to have a son and a daughter, but after Draco was born, giving Lucius a male heir, he convinced me not to have another baby…. I love my son, always will, but I still long for the daughter I never had"

Sofia's eyes were wide as she watched Narcissa, but her future mother in law was looking down, as she was still working on her hair.

"When Draco first brought home his girlfriend, Pansy, I was very eager to meet her. If I could not have a daughter of my own, my only option was the girl who would, one day, be my daughter by marriage. Of course I had heard of Pansy before, her family was well known and respected in our circle, but I had never seen her until that day. My hopes were quick to fade; the girl was completely rude, rotten and malicious. Unlike what many people may think, I did not spoil Draco like he made everyone else think so, and I always knew he had a good heart"

Sofia saw a faint smile cross Narcissa's face as she spoke of Draco and couldn't help smiling herself.

"I kept wishing he would get rid of her and find someone better, someone worthy…. And eventually he did" She said, finally looking up at the mirror, her eyes locking on Sofia's.

Sofia smiled, and to her surprise, so did Narcissa. It was the first genuine smile Sofia had ever seen on her face and on that moment, all of Sofia's anguish and doubt disappeared. It did not matter that she was not placed in Slytherin or that their families fought on different sides for years, Narcissa had accepted her as Draco's choice and the daughter she had never had.

Her eyes began to fill with tears, but she pushed them back. She did not want to spoil her makeup as much as she did not want to make it uncomfortable for Narcissa. Sofia was well aware of how hard it must have been for Narcissa to share all this with her. The two continued to look into each other's eyes in the mirror, until someone knocked on the door.

"Enter" Said Narcissa, turning her attention back to Sofia's hair, which was almost done.

Sofia turned to face the door just as Narcissa waved her wand, casting a spell to keep her hair in place. Sofia thanked her again before walking towards Olivia, who had just entered the room.

"Oh sweetie, you look so beautiful" Olivia said, looking over her daughter "Thank you" She added, looking at Narcissa. The witch nodded.

"Thanks mum. Is dad here already as well?"

"He is downstairs with Mr. Malfoy, having a rather heated conversation about which team is going to win the championship this year" She said, rolling her eyes.

Sofia laughed. Ever since Caleb and Lucius had finally gotten over the shock of Sofia and Draco's relationship, the two men had found many things in common, Quidditch being the main one. They were not exactly friends, but tolerated each other enough that their families could be around each other. They often spent long times discussing or having heated, yet friendly, arguments, much to everyone else's amusement.

"For everyone's sake, I hope neither of their team does. We will never hear the end of it" Sofia said.

Just then, someone else knocked on the door.

"Enter" Narcissa said.

A small house elf came in and bowed.

"Mr. Smith is asking for his wife" It said with a squeaky voice.

Olivia took one more look at her daughter, nodded towards Narcissa and left, closely followed by the elf.

"Sofia, will you sit down again?" Narcissa asked, motioning to the chair by the vanity. Sofia quickly sat down. "The dress you are wearing tonight is the same dress my mother wore for her engagement party. I had it slightly modified so that it would look more modern and fit you better. I am giving it to you"

"Mrs. Malfoy! I can't, I… I cannot accept it. I will not take away something that belong to your mother"

"You are not taking it away Sofia, I'm giving it to you" She said, opening a drawer in the vanity and pulling out a black, squared box.

"Thank you" Sofia said, feeling overwhelmed.

"This" Narcissa said, opening the box "was made especially for you."

From the box, she pulled out a necklace. A short silver chain held a pendant composed of a white flat circle, on which sat half a sphere of what had to be the biggest piece of emerald Sofia had ever seen. Circling the emerald was a slim silver line.

"May I?" Narcissa asked, holding the necklace by Sofia's head. When Sofia nodded her approval, pulling her hair out of the way, Narcissa continued "The emerald on this necklace came from a much larger piece that has been in our family for many years. We use it to make fine jewelry. I had the chain made short so that it won't sit on top of the necklace Draco gave you long ago, as I know you will not take it off. I was afraid it would be too much with the dress and the other necklace, but it looks just fine" She said, looking at Sofia's image in the mirror.

This time, Sofia had a harder time keeping the tears away.

"I was always so scared you would never accept me…" She said, chocking.

"There is no need for that Sofia" Narcissa said, placing a hand on her shoulder

"Thank you" Sofia murmured, knowing it was not a strong enough word to express how she truly felt. "Thank you very much Mrs. Malfoy"

"Call me Narcissa, Sofia. I will not have my daughter in law addressing me so formally. Take a closer look at the pendant."

Sofia did. Engraved on the silver circling the emerald were the words _Sofia Malfoy_, written in what Sofia recognized as Draco's hand writing. _Malfoy_, she read again, unable to believe this was actually happening. She really was feeling overwhelmed.

"Now, are you ready?" Narcissa asked, turning towards the door and giving Sofia some privacy as she wiped away a few tears. "It is time, and I believe Draco is very impatient to see you"

* * *

**The picture of the necklace and of Sofia's dress can be seen on my profile. Feel free to check them ( :**

**(I couldn't find the dress on the color I wanted, so just imagine it green)**

**x**


	11. The engagement party

**As always, anything other than the OC or otherwise cited, belongs to JK.**

* * *

Sofia and Narcissa left the guest room together. Sofia was suddenly very nervous and wished she could have seen Draco before heading down. The party was taking place in the dining room, which had been magically enlarged in order to fit everyone. The guest list was quite extensive, especially because the Smith's had invited many people from France.

Narcissa entered the room with Sofia following behind. She stopped right at the door and looked around, curious to see what her future mother in law had done to it. All decorations were black, white and silver, the colors Sofia and Draco had agreed on for their wedding.

The room looked incredible. Sofia was particularly in love with the black chandeliers hanging every few feet. They were adorned with black diamonds that sparkled under the candle light. Enchanted trays floated around, serving hors d'oeuvres and drinks in the area where the guests were currently standing up and socializing. Towards the end of the room were several round tables with chairs, for when dinner was served, and next to them a small band composed of a pianist, violinist and harpist, was already playing.

Many of the guests had already arrived, and the room was buzzing with the noise of people talking and laughing. As Sofia followed Narcissa towards the back of the room, she stopped and briefly greeted everyone. When she ran into Hermione, Ginny and the boys, she stopped for a little longer. Even though what had happened to Hermione at the Manor had been in a different room and even though Hermione had said she was fine with visiting the Manor again, Sofia had been worried that her friends would be uncomfortable there. She questioned them again, and they all promised her they were fine.

When Sofia turned towards Narcissa, she was no longer around so Sofia continued to walk around until she spotted her, who was now talking to Caleb, Olivia, Lucius and some other people. Draco was still nowhere to be found. Sofia recognized only a few of them, so she approached their group shyly, greeting everyone with a handshake and finally hugging her father. After she had been introduced to those she didn't know, which were mainly Ministry representatives from England and France, she continued to walk around the room talking to people, all the while wondering why Draco still wasn't there.

Sofia found her way back to Hermione, Ginny and the boys. They were now surrounded by other people from Hogwarts and Sofia's friends from Beauxbatons. Sofia spent some time talking to her friends from Beauxbatons in particular, as she hadn't seen them in a few months and had all been so busy they hadn't exchanged many owls.

Halfway through the conversation, the girls began talking about their dresses, Sofia's in particular.

"Tu es très belle, Sofia*" Pierre said, joining the girls conversation.

"Merci Pierre**" She said, blushing slightly.

"Certainement, la plus belle femme***" A familiar voice joined in.

Sofia turned around, her heart beating fast, and nearly ran into Draco who was standing right behind her. He was dressed in all black robes, with a royal green tie that matched the shade of Sofia's dress.

"You are finally here!" She said, smiling widely.

"I am sorry it took me so long" He said, kissing her on the cheek.

He then proceeded to greet everyone in their little group, greeting Sofia's friends from Beauxbatons in French even though they knew English.

"My apologies to everyone, but I need to borrow my fiancé for a minute" He said, relishing (as he always did) on the sound of that word.

Draco offered his arm to Sofia and guided her back to where their parents were.

"There is someone I want to introduce you to"

They continued walking, stopping to talk briefly with a few more people, until they finally reached their parents. A few other people were with them now, but only one was an outsider to Sofia.

"I know you have seen each other in school before, but I never formally introduced you. Sofia, this is Blaise. Blaise, this is Sofia"

"Pleasure to meet you Sofia" Blaise said, extending his hand.

"You as well" She said, uncertainly taking his hand.

"I trust you are fine here, with my parents?" Draco asked him.

"Yes, I'm good mate. Your mother has outdone herself, as always. It all looks great"

"She has a true talent for this" Draco agreed.

"It is amazing! I'm glad she took care of everything, it wouldn't have looked half as good if I had been responsible" Sofia said.

"I am sure it would have looked just fine Sofia. I must tell you though, this is probably the most elaborate decoration my mother has ever envisioned"

"Must have something to do with her only son getting married" Blaise teased.

"Must have" Draco said, nodding.

"Just wait until the wedding" Sofia said "She has some really amazing ideas"

They continued to talk until Narcissa, with the help of a spell, invited everyone to sit down for dinner. Just like it had been done at the tournament in Italy, all the person had to do was say what he or she wanted to eat and the food materialized on their plates. The food selection wasn't very extensive, but it included several typical English and French dishes.

After he and Sofia were done eating, Draco stood up and offered her his hand. Guiding her to the empty space where people had stood before dinner, they began to slow dance. At first, people only watched them but eventually others joined in.

"Can I ask why Blaise is here? I don't mind it, but I didn't even know he had been invited"

"We ran into each other last year, before you and I got engaged and kind of talked, you know, about all that has happened. We have been exchanging letters ever since. On the day you and our mothers were addressing all the invitations, I grabbed one and sent it to him."

"Why didn't you tell me any of this before?"

"I am not sure. I guess I didn't know how I felt about it… and I wanted to see what would happen."

"And do you know it now?"

"Yes. When I sent him the invitation he wasn't sure it would be a good idea for him to come, but he surprised me by coming to see me right before the party began. We had a long conversation and things are entirely ok between us now"

"So that's why you were late?"

"Yes, my apologies"

"There is no need to apologize Draco"

"Yes there is, I shouldn't have been late to our engagement party"

"As long as you are not late for our wedding, that's reserved for the bride." She joked.

"All the same"

"It's fine Draco, really. You are here now and that's all that matters. Are you happy that things worked out with you and Blaise?"

"Yes, he has always been the closest thing to a friend I ever had, not counting you of course. I am… thinking about asking him to be my best man… would you mind?"

"Is he… well, can we trust him?"

"We can. He believed in the Dark Lord and his ideologies more than I did, but in the end he didn't fight for the dark side and in the months after the battle, he came to realize things weren't quite like You-Know-Who had made it seem. He deserves a chance and he would never hurt you or any of our loved ones, I can assure you that"

"Then, I wouldn't mind at all"

"Thanks Sofia"

"You are welcome"

"You look stunning by the way. That dress fits you perfectly"

"Thanks to your mother. And I love the necklace, specially your handwriting"

"It was mother and father's idea to give you the necklace, but my idea to write your name on it"

"Thank you"

"Anything for you, my love" He said, leaning in and kissing her.

They danced for a while longer before resuming their walk around the room. Towards the end of the party, when everyone but their closest family and friends were still there, Sofia took of her heels and let her hair down while Draco loosened his tie and took of his jacket.

They spent the next several minutes talking to Pierre, Pauline, Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny, while all of their parents were doing the same, just a few tables away. Ginny, who had gotten engaged to Harry barely two weeks ago, was talking to Sofia and Hermione about decoration ideas, while Ron, Pauline and Pierre were discussing Quidditch.

"I wonder how long till Weasley finally has the courage to ask for Granger's hand" Draco said to Harry, who was sitting next to him.

"Don't tell Sofia, but he is going to meet with her parents very soon" Harry whispered to Draco.

"About time, those two took long enough as it was"

"That they did" Harry said, chuckling.

"Looks like we will have quite the festivities between all of us"

"Ginny and I have decided to wait at least a month after your wedding before having ours. And I am sure Hermione and Ron will wait to have theirs as well, but you are right, it will be a busy time"

* * *

When the final person had left, the Smiths thanked Narcissa again for the wonderful party, before leaving as well. Sofia and Draco were getting tired of having to constantly leave each other for the night but knew that it would be over soon enough, as they were schedule to begin house hunting within the month, something they were both really looking forward to.

* * *

* You are beautiful, Sofia

** Thanks Pierre.

***Certainly. The most beautiful woman.


	12. A house to call home

**As always, anything other than the OC or otherwise cited, belongs to JK.**

* * *

"Absolutely _not"_ Sofia said, as she came in the living room.

"Why not?" Draco asked, turning around to face her.

Sofia was holding her wand and pointing it at a dozen or so of unpacked boxes, which were floating behind her. With a wave, she ended the spell and the boxes gently landed on the ground.

"You are off your trolley if you think I will have that Slytherin crest over the fireplace" She said, crossing her arms.

Draco had to fight a smile as he watched her. She could be so stubborn sometimes.

"I have had this crest since I was a baby, and it's been in the Malfoy family for generations. Where do you expect me to hang it? In our room?"

"No bloody way! Look Draco, I know how important the Slytherin house is to you and your family, but I will not have our house decorated like the Slytherin common room. Why don't you just hang it in your study? That's what I am doing with all my Beauxbatons and Gryffindor things"

Draco turned to face the crest again, trying to keep Sofia from seeing the smirk on his face. He had always known she wouldn't let him hang the crest there, but he had wanted to see how she would react. Sometimes he really enjoyed messing with her.

"Fine" he said, taking out his wand and pointing it at the crest "wingardium leviosa"

With the crest floating behind him, Draco left the room, closely followed by Sofia and all the boxes floating behind her.

They had gotten the keys to the house the previous morning and had been busy unpacking, organizing and decorating ever since. The first thing Lucius and Caleb had done when Sofia and Draco bought the house was to enchant it with all sorts of protective spells. The house had belonged to a Muggle family, something the Malfoys disliked, and therefore lacked on the common spells every wizard family had on their house.

It had taken Draco and Sofia almost three months to find a house, the main reason being the fact they could hardly agree on something. Draco wanted a large and opponent house like the Manor, while Sofia wanted something much smaller, arguing that they would never need a place so big. Draco wanted a two stories house while Sofia wanted a ground level house. He wanted to live far away from London, closer to Malfoy Manor and she wanted to live closer to London and her family's place. The only thing both unquestionably agreed on was that they wanted a large yard, with a lake and close to the woods.

After numerous arguments and countless visits to properties, they had finally found a place they could both agree on. The property and the house were larger than the Smith's but smaller than the Manor. It was almost centered between the two places, further from London than Sofia would have liked, but it had a big lake, it boarded a forest and it was the only property on that particular road, providing them both with privacy. The two story structure had five bedrooms and five bathrooms on the second floor, and two studies, half a bathroom, a living room, kitchen, and foyer on the first floor. Sofia's favorite part about the house was the sun room, which faced the lake and the forest, with a breathtaking view.

During their first day at the house, their parents had helped when needed, but Sofia and Draco had asked them not to come back until the place was entirely done. As much as they appreciated the help this was something they wanted to do by themselves. And with their wedding only six months away, Sofia wanted to have the entire house taken care of as soon as possible, so they could focus solely on the wedding. That meant the remainder of the week was spent between work, shopping for furniture and decorations, and taking care of the house. Because of Draco's longer hours, Sofia spent most of the time working around the house than he did. Her constant efforts and dedication to making their house a home never ceased to impress Draco and he couldn't help but to feel the luckiest man alive.

One particular day, Draco came home to find Sofia standing in the middle of her study, singing as furniture and decorations floated all around her. She waved her wand around, placing each thing on its proper place, clearly enjoying herself. Draco watched her, without being noticed, loving how happy she was.

_What if I told you that I think you're perfect? Beautiful sky in your eyes, it's so worth it, I know, you make me feel alive, he thought. What if I told you that I'm in forever? I'll go wherever you would go. And I'll be hanging on very word you say to me, hanging on a feeling that I get, 'cause you make me laugh a little louder and love a little harder. And I feel alive when I'm with you, every time it's something new, never knew what love could feel like until I walked away the first time. And I feel alive when I'm with you, deep inside, it's something true, you're the only reason I fight and you're the best thing in my life*. _

When he could no longer bear to only watch her, and when all flying pieces were put down, Draco walked in the room and wrapped her tightly in his arms. They spent the rest of the day working around the house together.

When the weekend finally arrived, the exhausted but proud couple welcomed their families and close friends to their house, for dinner. Sofia was undeniably happy and proud of their house, giving everyone a thorough tour before dinner was served. Although he did his best to hide it, Draco was feeling much the same, especially because of how content his fiancé was. This house meant a lot to her, and therefore it meant a lot to him as well. This was an important point in their live as a couple and he was certain many great memories would be made between these walls.

* * *

If Draco, and specially Sofia, had thought their lives had been busy until then, they were bitterly mistaken. In the months leading to their wedding, their work load continued to increase and they had to work even longer hours every day. Sofia was leaving close to everything related to the wedding in the hands of Narcissa and Olivia. As much as she tried to be involved, she didn't have the time to work on every single detail, but she was present anytime a major decision had to be done, bringing Draco along every so often. She was truly grateful for both of their moms, especially Narcissa; she would never be able to handle it herself.

Sofia's absolute favorite day was when Narcissa invited Olivia, Sofia, her bridesmaids, the flower girl, and her mom (Olivia's sister) to the Manor to decide on the dresses. Sofia had always dreamed of having a famous British wizard designer do her dress, but the lady was very famous and therefore very busy. It was nearly impossible to get an appointment with her, so when Sofia arrived at the Manor to find Zoey Kerr having a cup of tea with Narcissa, she nearly fainted. Olivia, who had always known about Sofia's dream, had asked Narcissa to help her get the designer. Narcissa was more than eager to help and had contacted Kerr's office immediately.

Kerr spent the entire afternoon talking to them, Sofia specially, trying to decide on the perfect dress for the bride and the bridal party. She had her assistants measure them all and left with the promise of having all the dresses done within two months. Sofia was so happy and grateful for what they had done, she bought both her mother and future mother in law presents. The day they all visited the Manor to see the dresses and try them on was one the happiest in Sofia's life. The dresses, hers especially, where perfect and exactly what she had always envisioned.

With the wedding only a month away, Draco surprised Sofia with a weekend trip to a wizarding community in Northern Ireland. He wanted to give them both a chance to relax and take a break from the stress of everyday life.

On the night before the wedding, Sofia kicked Draco out of the house so that she could have the place to herself and the female part of the wedding party. As the wedding was taking place at their property, Narcissa and Olivia also spent the night over, working on the last details for the following day.

* * *

* Adelitas - Way Alive


	13. Sofia Malfoy, at last

**As always, anything other than the OCs or otherwise cited, belong to JK. **

**Enjoy!**

* * *

Sofia, Hermione, Pauline and Marie spent the night before the wedding talking about anything other than the events of the next day, in order to keep Sofia from getting nervous. They sat by the massive fireplace in the living room, enjoying several glasses of wine and sharing stories from their past. Narcissa and Olivia had just come back inside and were currently in Sofia's study going over the last few details. Sofia had asked them both not to tell her how things were turning out and had refused to go outside or look out of the windows because she wanted to see the wedding and reception spaces for the first time when they were entirely done and everyone else was already there.

As the girls drank and talked, the hours passed without being noticed, and it wasn't until Narcissa insisted it was time for bed that they all went to sleep. Narcissa, Hermione and Olivia each had their own room, Pauline and Marie shared the last one and Sofia slept on the master bedroom, as always.

Everyone else fell asleep almost instantly, but Sofia had a harder time as her nerves were staring to get the best out of her. She walked back and forth, opened the curtains enough to look at the moon, and tossed in bed for hours. She wasn't sure why she was feeling that way, but suspected that in part, it was because she just couldn't believe she was actually going to marry Draco. After all that had happened between them, things seemed to be going to well for the last few years and she wondered whether anyone could ever be so happy. Maybe this was only the calm before the storm, and she feared losing the Draco and the live they had if the storm were to hit.

* * *

"Good morning sweetie. It's time to get up! It's your wedding day and we must get going" A voice said, sounding as if it was coming from a long distance.

Sofia ignored the voice, turning on her stomach. Whoever was trying to disrupt her, when she had finally been able to fall asleep, would hopefully be gone soon. She was so comfortable under the sheets she couldn't imagine going anywhere, anytime soon.

"Sofia" the voice called again, louder and closer this time "Wake up"

Sofia groaned, slowly opening her eyes to face the person to whom the voice belonged to. When her eyes finally grew accustomed to the light coming from the windows, she finally focused them on Olivia's face. Her mother was looking down at her with a smile on her face.

"Time to get up darling, we have a busy day ahead. Everyone is almost ready to go"

"Just five more minutes" Sofia said, pulling the covers over her face.

"Sofia, are those bags under your eyes?" Olivia asked, pulling the covers away "Did you not sleep last night?"

"A little" Sofia answered, avoiding her mother's eyes.

"What's wrong sweetie?" Olivia asked, sitting in bed next to her daughter.

"Nothing I…. I'm just nervous. And I shouldn't be, right? I am about to marry the man I've loved for years. Why do I feel like this?"

The tone of frustration in Sofia's voice made Olivia wince. She knew what her daughter was feeling was perfectly normal, but Sofia had always hated not having control over her emotions, so Olivia was well aware of how hard this was.

"Listen to me Sofia, what you are feeling is normal. Several, if not all brides feel the same"

"Did you?"

"Oh yes. I had such a bad case of nerves your grandma threatened to give me a potion that would make me sleep until a few minutes before I had to walk down the aisle. Thankfully, my older sister calmed me down"

"I still don't like feeling like this, normal or not"

"No one does sweetie, but it shall pass. Let's take one step at the time and hopefully your busy schedule and everyone around, will distract you"

"Thanks mum"

"You are welcome. Now go get changed and come down for breakfast or we will be late for our appointment"

After Olivia left, closing the door behind her, Sofia slowly got up and was about to step into the bathroom when a noise startled her. Looking at the window, she saw a familiar owl waiting outside. She ran to open the window and let the Malfoys owl in, her heart beating fast. The owl waited long enough for her to get the letter before flying out. Sofia smiled as she saw the single petal of a black rose lying atop the folded piece of parchment.

**Sofia,**

**In only a few hours, I will finally see you walking down the aisle. In a few hours you will become my wife, and time cannot move fast enough. **

**Remember to relax and enjoy this day, everything will be all right. **

**I will see you soon, my love.**

**Draco**

Sofia put the letter down, a smile on her face. Why had she been so nervous? How ridiculous of her. She shook her head, feeling silly, as she walked to the bathroom to change. Draco was right, she needed to enjoy this day, and that was exactly what she would do.

After a quick breakfast, everyone but Narcissa left for London. As they had done many times before, Sofia and Olivia had booked a day at the spa. All the girls were excited about it, but Narcissa had absolutely refused to go. Their time at the spa went by entirely too fast, even though they had spent over three hours getting spoiled. By the time they arrived back at the house, Narcissa had already changed and done her hair and makeup. When everyone else was ready, they helped Sofia put on her dress and afterwards Narcissa did her hair while Olivia did her make up.

With only half an hour to go, all the ladies were in the master bedroom, waiting for the wedding to begin. They could all hear the sounds coming from the ground and Sofia wondered whether Draco was already there and how he was feeling. A knock on the door brought her back to reality.

"Enter" Narcissa said.

The door opened slowly, as if the person on the other side was hesitant to come in. After a few seconds, the person finally did. It was Caleb. Sofia, who had been watching the sun begin to set, turned around and as she did, Caleb's jaw dropped. His baby girl had always been beautiful, but today was different. She was radiant, glowing, and absolutely gorgeous. Caleb had to fight back tears as he looked at her, his little girl, ready to get married. He didn't know how he would be able to give her away.

"You look… there aren't words to describe how wonderful you look Sofia… my girl"

"Dad! Please don't, you will make me cry"

Caleb walked towards her and embraced his daughter, holding on tight. After letting her go, he stepped next to Olivia, who was already crying.

"It's time" Narcissa said after a while. They were all so busy talking that none had noticed the time pass.

Sofia's heart skipped a beat, and she locked eyes with Caleb. He nodded at her, silently telling her it would be ok, and they could do this. They left the room in the correct order, under Narcissa's watchful eyes. As they walked to the wedding area, Sofia kept her eyes straight ahead, anxious to see Draco. One look at him, and she would be fine. She also wanted to avoid seeing the reception area.

Standing next to her dad, as the flower girl went down the aisle followed by the bridesmaids, Sofia tried to control her breathing.

"Sofia, look at me" Caleb waited until she did, before continuing "I knew this day would be hard the very moment I first held you. And now that I am here, waiting to give you away, I realize this is much harder than I anticipated. Yet, I know the man waiting for you down the aisle will make you happy, and there is not greater comfort for a father, than to know his daughter will be well taken care of. But don't ever forget that your mother and I will always be here for you… no matter how old you are, you will always be our little girl"

"Oh dad!" Sofia said, having an even harder time fighting back the tears "I love you so much"

"I love you too"

As the song chosen for Sofia's entrance began to play, Caleb offered her his arm, and together, they left the waiting area behind some drapery and stepped into the aisle.

Sofia froze as her eyes met Draco's.

* * *

Draco walked around the wedding area greeting everyone, waiting for the time the ceremony would finally begin. He had spent most of the day at the Manor with Blaise, flying around the grounds, playing chess and talking about non important things but was glad to finally be back home.

When it was time for the ceremony to begin, he took his place at the end of the aisle, anxiously waiting for his bride. He and Sofia had invited less people to the wedding than they had to the engagement party, wanting to keep it more personal but they still had a large crowed. As he continued to wait, he looked around the ceremony space again, admiring what his mother had done. Sofia and Draco had asked to be married at sunset, by the lake and Narcissa had created the most amazing space. As the band, the same from their engagement party, began to play Draco turned his attention straight ahead.

First came the flower girl, Sofia's little cousin, and she looked adorable. Her dress was white, with a black stripe around her waist and a black rose at the front. All around the edges of the dress, black rose petals were spread around. Her hair was pulled back and braided in an intricate pattern before falling into lose curls. Then came the bridesmaids, Hermione, Marie and Pauline. They all had on a draped satin dress with a grosgrain sash, and their hairs pulled back into and stylish bun, all looking very posh and elegant. They were holding a bouquet made of white and black flowers.

Finally, the song changed and Sofia and her dad stepped from behind the drapery. Draco's world stopped the moment they locked eyes. She was a vision, the prettiest he had ever seen. She was wearing a strapless ball gown with ribbon-embroidered bodice and silk organza floating flange skirt accented by lace applique detail at hem, hair pulled back at the top and falling loosely behind her, holding a bouquet of white and black roses, with diamonds inside each flower. He didn't know how long it took her to walk to him, as time had ceased to matter, but he was sure he could have watched her forever.

* * *

After the ceremony, all guests were invited to the reception space, led by Sofia and Draco. Large wooden beams sat around, at certain intervals, framing the area. The ceiling was composed of more beams, reaching from one side to the other. White and black drapery was hanging from the beams, leaving enough room for the guests to see the full moon and the stars. The same black chandeliers Sofia had loved at their reception were hanging from the beams. At the very center was a black dance floor, on which the words _Draco and Sofia Malfoy _had magically been written. Around the dance floor were long rectangular white tables, whit black chairs. The tables were decorated with tall back vases with flowers and crystals candle holders with white candles on it. The table with the sitting arrangements was black, decorated with crystal candle holders with black details and white candles and white roses. Behind the table in which the wedding cake sat was a black wall decorated with white patterns that for some reason didn't seem to fit. When Sofia asked Draco about it, he said he didn't know. Everything was very elegant. Like the ceremony space, the reception area was protected from the snow and the cold weather by enchantments.

After their first dance, dinner was served. Guests could choose from a variety of plates from the English and French cuisine. When all plates were empty, the majority of people followed Sofia and Draco to the dance floor. As the night progressed, Sofia danced with Draco, her dad, the girls, Pierre and all of her friends. Suddenly, the music stopped and Draco asked everyone to approach the wall Sofia had asked him about earlier. When they all had, Draco undid the spell on his voice and asked Sofia to join him by the wall, as everyone else watched.

"Sofia, I spent many hours wondering how to make this night even more special, and when I finally realized it, I spent even more hours preparing. I have always played you the work of others but I wanted to play you my own work, which I wrote for you. Many of you don't know this about me" He said, looking at their guests "At first, only a few people in my family knew about it, then Sofia and then her parents. Tonight, I will share with you the very first song I've even written"

With a wave of his wand, Draco made the wall vanish. Behind it was his black piano, which usually sat at their living room. Many people gasped, none louder than Sofia. Draco asked everyone to sit and while all the guests did, he grabbed Sofia's hand and took her to the piano. They sat side by side and waited for everyone else to sit down.

"I wrote this about you, for you my love" With a kiss on Sofia's cheek, Draco began to play.

The song began slow and calm but rapidly picked up tempo. It alternated between them, as if telling their story, full of ups and downs. Towards the end, it was soft and calm again. While Draco played, Sofia rested her head on his shoulder. She didn't bother fighting back the tears, it would have been impossible. She could not believe Draco had written a song for her, especially one so perfect. When Draco was done playing, all their guests stood up and applauded and Sofia kissed him on the lips, before whispering how much she loved him. Before Draco had a chance to get up, he was asked to play some more.

When it was time for Sofia and Draco to leave, they stepped into the dance floor and took one final look around. Then, Draco reached for Sofia's hand and together they apparated away.

* * *

**The dresses for Sofia and the bridesmaids, and their descriptions, are from Vera Wang's website. I love her gowns and couldn't imagine Sofia wearing anything else. I have posted the pictures for the dresses, hairstyles and decorations on my profile, check it out ( :**


	14. Little Jane

**As always, anything other than the OC or otherwise cited, belongs to JK. **

* * *

For their three week long honeymoon, Draco surprised Sofia by taking her to Italy for the entire first week where they stayed at Charlemagne's castle, which Draco had rented from Alonzo. Although they had the entire place for themselves, and a few house elves, they spent the majority of the time outside on the grounds watching the snow and ice skating or traveling to different Italian wizarding communities.

On the second week, they visited several wizarding communities in Spain, Portugal and France. For their last week, they visited Finland, Sweden and Norway. Draco had never cared to travel around, but Sofia's love for traveling and her past experiences at countries like France and Norway had convinced him to give traveling a chance.

By the end of the three weeks, he was more than glad to have tried it, but both were delighted to arrive back home. Going back to work was both a blessing and a curse. After spending three weeks away, without a care in the world, it wasn't easy going back to the long hours and stresses of everyday life.

* * *

Sofia and Draco were promoted two years later and things calmed down a little as both had many people working under them, but the added pressure from their responsibilities was enough to ensure they were always busy. With Sofia's promotion, she was interacting with patients more often than usual, something she loved but had a hard time with, because her patients were usually suffering from very serious ailments.

One particular day, Draco came home to find the foyer empty. Ever since he started working at St. Mungus, his house elf would wait for him with a cup of tea by the entrance. The elf's absence disturbed him greatly, not because he was expecting his tea (which he most certainly was) but because he worried something had happen, perhaps to Sofia.

Keeping control over his emotions and trying not to worry, he called for both their house elves and Sofia, to no response. He checked both studies and their room, before deciding to check the kitchen. Both elves were there when he arrived, running around the room preparing a tray. Coming closer Draco saw a cup of Sofia's favorite tea, a plate of cookies and to his alarm, a glass of firewhiskey. He knew Sofia rarely drank during the week, especially when she was scheduled to work the following day.

"Where is Sofia? And why didn't neither of you answer my calls?" He asked, stepping in front of both elves.

Looking terrified for having displeased their master, both elves bowed.

"We are sorry master, but mistress isn't well and she asked for this immediately" One elf said, pointing at the tray.

"Mistress Malfoy is in the sun room, sir" The other added.

"What is wrong with her?"

"We know not master"

"Okay, bring her the tray when you can but leave the firewhiskey here" He said, turning around and leaving for the sun room.

He stopped before entering the sun room and watched Sofia. When they first bought the house, she had added a sitting area, bordering part of the room, wide enough for two or three people to lie around and enjoy the view. She was currently laying there, propped against two pillows, and looking at the book in her hands with a ferocious expression. Her eyes were red and puffy, a clear indicator she had been crying and a clearer indicator something wasn't right.

Draco knew she heard him come in, but she continued to stare at the book (which he recognized as the rare one he had given her years ago) for a little longer, before closing it with a loud thud. Putting the book aside, she brought her legs closer to her chest and lowered her face, her hair falling loosely and hiding it from Draco.

"Will you tell me what's wrong?"

She responded, but with her face still down he couldn't understand what she said. After he asked a second time, she lifted her face and locked eyes with him. His heart stopped beating when he noticed the pain hidden in her usually warm and bright green eyes.

"I… lost… I lost… a patient today" She said, her voice breaking.

"Oh Sofia, come here" He said, wrapping her in his arms. "Who?"

"Little Jane" She answered, her voice barely a whisper.

Draco flinched. Jane was one of the youngest patient at St Mungus, only merely three years old and she had been suffering from a rare side effect of a potion she accidently drank. Sofia had been brewing potions and administering them to Jane for over six months, and they had immediately hit it off. Sofia was undeniably Jane's favorite person in the entire hospital.

"I failed her!" Sofia said, the pain more than evident in her voice "I have been going over everything we did for her, all the potions I brewed… and I don't understand… we shouldn't have lost her!"

Draco knew too well what she was going through. As a healer, he had lost a couple of patients before and the experience was terrible. But Sofia had never lost a patient before, especially because for the most part, she didn't interact with any of them.

"You listen to me Sofia Ann Malfoy, you _did not_ fail her. You and all the healers who have been treating her did _everything_ you could, but sometimes patients lose their battles. It is life, my love and you can't change that."

Sofia nodded, inching closer to him and hiding her face in his chest. No longer able to hold back the fresh tears, she let them come and they sat together in silence. While she cried, Draco stroked her hair, which he knew always calmed her down. It physically hurt him to see her like this, and to know he couldn't help her much more than what he already had.

When the elves came in with the tray, Sofia wanted to fight Draco for not letting her drink the firewhiskey, but she had no energy for it. They did end up having an argument later on, when Sofia didn't want to eat dinner and Draco refused to let her go without eating.

Going back to work the following day was hard on both of them. On Sofia because she was still shaken and on Draco because she was still hurting. It took her almost a month to regain her confidence and warmth, greatly helped by Draco who did everything he could possibly think of to comfort her.


	15. The greatest Christmas present

**As always, anything other than the OC or otherwise cited, belongs to JK.**

* * *

Over two years had passed and life for the Malfoys hadn't changed much. Sofia and Draco still had very good jobs, a nice home, wonderful families and great friends.

As Christmas approached, and as it had become a tradition, Draco helped Sofia decorate their house and the Christmas tree, which had come from their grounds. He had never cared for such things before, but it made her happy and he had grown to enjoy the times spent helping her, even when she fussed at him for hanging the wrong ornament, in the wrong spot. As with many other things, Sofia had shown him the little joys in life, which oddly enough included decorating the entire house for a holiday that only lasted two days.

As they had been doing ever since moving in together, on the twenty fourth, they would have either dinner or lunch at the Burrow, depending mainly on their work schedule. This year, they had dinner with them. The addition of grandkids to the family had helped everyone cope with Fred's death, even if none of them would ever truly recover from it. And Hermione's and Ginny's pregnancies, even if just a couple of months in, had everyone in high spirits. The girls had a particularly good time watching the boys, Draco included, teasingly torment Ron about being a dad. Ever since Draco had made amends after the Battle, Ron and Harry had slowly grown to accept him and one could even say they were now friends.

On the morning of the twenty fifth, Draco was awakened by an enthusiastic Sofia. Christmas had always been one of her favorite holidays, but she seemed to be even more agitated this year. After a quick joint shower, they headed downstairs for breakfast and after that, to the living room where the enormous tree and all the presents were. They put aside the presents from their families, as they would come by for dinner and presents later, and opened each other's. After opening a few boxes each, Sofia reached for a particularly big box.

"Be careful with that" Draco warned.

"Why?" Sofia said, holding the box away from her, as if afraid it would explode.

"Open and see" He said, smirking at his wife.

Sofia looked from Draco to the box and from the box to Draco a few times before setting it on the floor, in front of her. Very carefully, she undid the bow before hesitantly opening the box. The lid was barely halfway up when something moved inside the box, causing Sofia to scream and drop the lid. From inside a Sealyham Terrier puppy, of the purest white fur, propped it's two front paws on the edge of the box, looked straight at Sofia and barked. After taking a couple more breaths, Sofia leaned in and picked the puppy. It immediately proceeded to lick her on the cheek, causing her to laugh.

"Happy Christmas, my love" Draco said, smiling at the two of them.

"Thank you! I can't believe you remembered!" She said.

Many years ago, when they were about eight, Draco had asked Sofia which animal she would take to Hogwarts with her. She answered none, because dogs weren't allowed. As much as she liked cats and had grown up around one, she had always wanted a Sealyham Terrier. She had seen one in London, while walking around with her mom, and had fallen in love with that particular breed. Before telling Sofia which animal he would take, he promised her that he would buy her a Sealyham one day.

"How could I? It was a promise"

"Still, thank you" She said, leaning in to kiss him.

"Hey" Draco said, when the puppy licked him as well.

"He likes you" Sofia said, in between laughs "Or is it a she?"

"It's a he"

"Does it have a name?"

"No, I wanted you to choose one"

Sofia nodded, looking down at the puppy with an expression of pure concentration. After a few minutes had gone by, in which the puppy barked and jumped around her some more, she finally looked at Draco.

"Barkley?" She asked, and the puppy barked again, animatedly wagging its tail.

"I think that's a yes" Draco said.

"Barkley it is" Sofia said, getting up "Now we need to go to a store, to get him a bed, toys and other things"

"Already taken care of. I have everything he might need hidden in my study"

"Well, aren't you Mr. Perfect" She teased.

"Indeed" He said, also standing up "Good luck topping that" He joked, wrapping her in his arms, while Barkley explored the room, stopping every now and then to smell something.

"Hardly a problem, I can assure you my present will be the best, by far"

"I highly doubt it, but let's see it then"

Untangling herself from his arms, she reached for his right hand and placed it on the lower half of her belly, placing both of her hands on top his.

"Merry Christmas, my love… from _both_ of us" She said, the most wonderful smile on her lips.

Draco gasped and his eyes widened. He looked at their hands, resting on Sofia's belly and back at her eyes.

"Are you… are…?"

"With child? Yes! Draco, we are going to have a baby" She said, the happiness in her voice almost palpable.

With a huge smile on his face, Draco placed a hand on each side of her hips and dropped on both knees. Staring straight at her belly, he felt a tear, of happiness, leave his eyes for the first time since he was a toddler. Sofia, his entire world, was pregnant with their first child. Nothing else in the world mattered, but her and the growing baby in her belly.

"Stop it, that tickles" She said, as Draco planted kisses all over her belly.

Standing up, Draco wrapped his arms around her lower body and picked her up, spinning them in place, and nearly tripping over Barkley.

"How long have you known?" Draco asked, putting Sofia down after she told him he was making her sick.

"Just a few days"

"I love you Sofia, you and our baby. More than anything!"

"I love you too Draco, _we_ love you too"

"Have you told anyone else?"

"No, I wanted you to be the first one to know and I wanted us to tell our parents tonight. Is that ok?"

"Of course"

At that moment, one of their house elves came in to inform Sofia that her grandmother was in the dining room fireplace, wishing to speak to her for a moment. She was gone for a while and, therefore, was not expecting to find Draco still sitting at the same chair he was when she had left the room earlier. She could tell something was wrong even if his walls were up, but it didn't bother her, she knew it would come to pass.

"You shouldn't let it bother you, this will be different" She said.

"What are you talking about?"

"The reason why you haven't moved for the past thirty minutes"

"I am merely thinking"

"About things you shouldn't. You are not your father Draco"

"Pardon me?"

"You heard me. Now that you had a chance to stop and think about it, you are worried that you will not be a good father to our baby, because you want our baby to have a better childhood than you did"

Draco stared at her wide eyed. How had she known _exactly_ what he was thinking? But then again, how could he not? He loved his family and knew they had done what they did because they believe to be the right thing, but he worried that he would not be a good father, that like Lucius, he would be cold and distant, always expecting his son or daughter to prove himself or herself. He wanted to believe Sofia, and he had known for a long time he was not like his father, but he couldn't help but to worry.

"You are going to be a wonderful dad Draco, just like you were a wonderful friend, boyfriend and now, husband. Stop doubting yourself and bring back the self-assured Draco we all love to hate"

He smiled slightly, getting up to kiss his wife.

"I assure you I will be the best dad a child could ever have"

"I never expected any less"

"Thank you" he said, pressing his forehead against hers.

"Are you thinking me for being such a remarkable wife and soothing your nerves or for being such a remarkable wife and carrying our baby?"

"Both, but you really need to tone it down. There can only be one self-assured person in this house. Two perhaps, if our child picks it up"

"Merlin, I hope not. I can barely stand you as it is"

"You better realize how lucky you are that you are carrying our baby, because I would have made you pay for this comment otherwise" He teased, in his best solemn voice.

"Are you telling me I can get away with anything for as long as I'm carrying our child? This should be interesting…" She said, winking at him.

A loud bark caused them both to look down. Barkley was sitting in between them, looking from one of them to the other, visibly unhappy at being ignored. While Draco took Barkley outside, Sofia oversaw the dinner preparations and took Barkley's belongings from Draco's study. She took the bed to their master bedroom and placed it on the floor, at the foot of their bed, oblivious to the fact that Barkley would never get to used it, as he would be sleeping on their bed every single night.

* * *

When the Malfoys and Smiths arrived, everyone sat around the tree and opened presents. Sofia and Draco were both very anxious to tell their parents, but had agreed on waiting till the right moment. Such moment came when they sat down to eat dinner. Standing up from his place at the end of the table, Sofia sitting on his right, Draco raised his glass of firewhiskey. Everyone else, but Sofia, raised theirs and she raised her glass of pumpkin juice.

"Tonight, we toast not only to the same things we do every year, but for the most wonderful present I was given by my wife, earlier this morning. Tonight, we toast to the newest member of our family, who will be joining us in eight months from now. Cheers!"

"Cheers" Everyone else said.

Then, it hit them. Olivia and Narcissa both put their cups down and looked at Sofia with identical smiles, Caleb chocked on his drink and Lucius looked at his son, his face an expression of pure wonder.

"Sweetie! Are you?" Olivia said

"Yes mum, I am with child"

"Oh my baby!" Olivia said, standing up and going to hug her daughter.

After several more hugs and congratulations were exchanged, they sat down to eat dinner. They were all in high spirits and dinner was progressing as usual until the house elves brought out the dessert. As soon as the smell of the pudding hit Sofia, she ran out of the room. Draco looked at the door thru which she had just left, alarmed.

"Not to worry darling" Narcissa said "It's much common, you will get used to it"

Once they were done eating dessert, they met Sofia in the living room. She had refused to go back in and smell the pudding again.

"Are you all right?" Draco asked her.

"This is the first time since I was a child that I haven't had my favorite dessert on Christmas… so no, I'm not all right" She answered, crossing her arms.

Draco laughed and she shot him a fuming look, which only caused him to laugh harder.

"You just wait until I have cravings" She said "I want to see you laugh then"

The remainder of the night went as usual. Draco and Sofia played the piano, Draco and Caleb played chess, and they all enjoyed each other's company, and played with Barkley. After everyone was gone, Sofia and Draco got ready to bed. After unsuccessfully trying to get Barkly to stay at his bed, they laid down with Barkley at their feet, sleeping in content.

Cuddling with Sofia, Draco placed a hand on her belly and gently squeezed her closer to his body. It was amazing how one person could hold his entire world and even more amazing how happy she made him.

He was a lucky man, a _very_ lucky man indeed.

* * *

**Soooo, I hope you enjoyed this chapter as much as I did. I loved writing it and have been waiting for this moment for a long time ( :**

**Let me know what you think! Reviews, comments, suggestions, criticism and etc are always welcomed!**


	16. The months before we meet you

**As always, anything other than the OC or otherwise cited, belongs to JK. **

* * *

Sofia's pregnancy changed their lives in more ways than Draco would ever have imagined. She had a glow unlike anything he had ever seen and was even warmer, happier and brighter. Being around her was enough to make anyone's day. On the other hand, her mood swings (which were far and few, thankfully) had tested his patience and more often than not, caught him entirely off guard.

Her threat about cravings had proven to be true. He hadn't laughed once at all the crazy things she had wanted to eat, and more especially at all the times during the night in which he had to summon an house elf and ask him to go fetch whatever Sofia was craving at the moment. Overall, her pregnancy went by smoothly, but the moments when something did happen, it was enough to exhaust him.

The main change her pregnancy brought, however, was on him. He was dealing with feelings and emotions he had never experienced before, and was experiencing a stronger form of the feelings he was familiar with. Christmas morning wasn't the only time Sofia had had to sooth his nerves, and he had grown even more protective of her.

When she was six months pregnant, they had the worse fight in the history of their relationship, because Sofia wanted to travel with her parents to France, to see all of their friends and Draco didn't want her to go. He listed several reasons why she shouldn't go, while she defended her wish to go, and accused him of being unreasonably over protective. That was the first, and only, night Draco ever slept in the guest bedroom, because Sofia had locked herself in the master room and refused to let him in until they had reached an agreement. In the end, she went to France with her parents, by floo network, only after one of the healers had examined her and deemed her fit to travel.

When they weren't busy at work, Sofia would spend her time with her mom and Narcissa, and sometimes with Hermione, Ginny and their mothers, shopping for all kinds of things. Soon, the pictures in Sofia's board consisted mainly of the three of them and their growing bellies, of her and Draco, of them and their families and of them with Barkley. When Hermione and Ginny had their babies, mere days apart, Sofia spent countless hours helping them with the babies, and as she liked to say "practicing."

She would also spend a lot of time with Barkley, and they had become almost inseparable. And like Draco, he was very protective of her. He continued to sleep on the bed with Sofia and Draco, would always lay on her lap when she was in the sun room or her study and he would lay near her in the nurseries, when she was working on it. When Sofia was a month away from her due date, she no longer went to work, and would instead spend her days reading, working on the nurseries and playing with Barkley.

One day, Draco came home earlier than he had anticipated and after waiting for his tea, he headed to the sun room to see Sofia. He stopped before entering to take in the scene. Sofia was laying on her side, her head resting on a fluffy pillow and Barkley was laying by her chest, as closer to her as he could get, his face right next to hers and both fast asleep. She had an arm over him, holding him close to her. Draco came in as silently as he could, but Barkley heard him and stood up, his tail wagging. It was a beautiful summer day and Draco convinced Sofia to take a dip on the lake. Barkley was more than excited when they all headed outside, running towards the lake and jumping in the water before Sofia and Draco were even halfway there.

It had taken them almost her entire pregnancy to finish the nurseries. Because they didn't know whether the baby was a boy or a girl, they fixed two of the upstairs room as nurseries. They figured it would be easier to have it ready, and to just undo one of the rooms than to worry about putting a nursery together when the baby had already arrived. Sofia had the help of Draco and both their mothers while doing the nurseries. After much deliberating between the two of them regarding color schemes, mainly because Draco wanted to continue the family tradition of Slytherin colors, they decided on a light yellow and white for the girl and a warm green and white for the boy.

Both nurseries were decorated and furnished with very expensive materials, because Narcissa refused to use any other, cheaper materials for her grandbaby, something Draco agreed with. Sofia on the other hand, and aided by Olivia, had wanted something much simpler. In the end, they went with Sofia, Olivia and Draco's choices, and Narcissa's materials. On both rooms, Sofia and Draco had magically painted intricate patterns on the wall behind the cribs, leaving a blank spot right at the center, in which they would later pain the baby's name. Their parents, families and friends had wanted to shower them with presents, but Draco and Sofia had asked them to limit the presents until the baby arrived.


	17. And then you arrived, changing our lives

**As always, anything other than the OC or otherwise cited, belongs to JK. **

* * *

Scorpius Hyperion Malfoy was born on a rainy afternoon, in August. Draco would never forget the first time he saw his son, when he entered the room, resting in Sofia's arms. She looked up from their son, and when her eyes met his, Draco's heart almost exploded. Approaching them, he sat in bed next to Sofia and peek down at the little baby, warped in blankets and fast asleep. After kissing his wife's lips, he rested his forehead on hers.

"Thank you" He said "He is so… _perfect_"

"Would you like to hold him?"

Draco looked down at Scorpius again, suddenly unsure. He looked so tinny and delicate, what if he dropped him? What if he, somehow, hurt his son?

"You will do fine Draco" Sofia said, studying the look on her husband's face "Here"

She instructed him on how to hold Scorpius and, very carefully, handed her son over to Draco. _This isn't so bad_, Draco thought, _and he really is just perfect_. Scorpius yawned and slowly opened his yes. They were the exact same color as Draco's but there were no walls and no signs of hardships, just the beautiful innocence of a child.

Draco had vowed many times before to give his son a better life than the one he had experienced, but now as he held his son for the very first time, he vowed it again. He had never thought he could ever love someone as much as he loved Sofia, but from the moment she told him about her pregnancy, he had learned it wasn't the case. And now, that was even truer than ever. He loved his son and wife above all else, and would do anything for them.

Bringing Scorpius home changed their routine entirely. Long gone were the straight hours of sleep every night, the silence, and the freedom to go and do as they pleased. Their time was now devoted to changing diapers, feeding, rocking, playing and above all, loving on their baby boy. The outpour of love, help and gifts from everyone and especially their family was almost overwhelming. Even Lucius had fallen under Scorpius hold. Their parents were constantly visiting, as much as their work schedules would allow, and when Scorp was old enough, Sofia would take him to visit Ginny, Hermione and their babies, or would have them over at the house.

A month after Scorp had arrived, Draco went back to work. The first days were miserable, as all he did was wonder how his wife and child were and wish he could be with them. Eventually, things fell back into a routine and Draco learned to balance work, Sofia and Scorpius. Sofia had an even harder time going back, when Scorp was over eight months, and she considered quitting several times. Only the encouragement of her family kept her from doing so.

* * *

On Scorpius first birthday, they had a massive celebration at the house. As he continued to grow, Sofia and Draco experienced many wonderful moments with their baby boy, and not so good ones. The first time Scorp had fallen and hurt his knee, Sofia had gone into full panic mode until Draco healed his son and was able to calm her down. After that day, she had learned to react a lot better to other cuts and bruises.

To their surprise and enjoyment, Scorpius first word was Baky, as he tried to call Barkley over. The dog had taken to Scorp much as he had to Draco and especially Sofia. He followed Scorp around at almost all times and the first time Scorpius had stood up, he had used Barkley as a support. When Scorp was old enough, Sofia and Draco began to take him outside to play in the grass, swim in the lake and to play in the snow. Those little moments were what made their life so perfect, and the sound of their son's laughter was the most beautiful sound in the world.

Scorp's first major sign of magic came when he was almost two. He was flying around on a toy broom Draco had bought earlier that day, clearly enjoying himself, while Draco watched, Barkley ran after him barking and Sofia took pictures. When it was time for bed, Draco picked Scorpius up and put the broom away. Scorp asked for the broom back and when Draco said no, he stopped and stared intensely at his father.

Suddenly, bright flames erupted on Draco's head and Sofia barely had the time to catch her son before he hit the ground, when Draco let go of him. Quickly, she drew her wand and put the flames away, before setting Scorp on the floor and going over to Draco. She healed his burns and fixed his hair, before leaving the room with Barkley and the broom, so that Draco could have a long talk with his son. Afterwards, every time they thought or talked about it, Sofia would burst into laughter.

Their lives changed again, when Scorpius was almost three. It was their day off, but Draco had been called in that morning to help with a particular patient. When he arrived home, right before lunch, Sofia, Scorpius and Barkley were outside. Stepping into their backyard, Draco spotted them siting in the shade of a tree, close to the lake.

"Look mummy is dad" Scorpius said, pointing at the lone blond figure by the house. "C'mon mum, let's go."

Sofia had barely stood up when Scorp took off running, his blond hair shinning in the sun, and Barkley close behind. Draco stopped halfway between the house and the tree, and watched as Scorpius ran towards him, petting Barkley who had already reached him. Behind Scorpius, Sofia was leisurely making her way towards them, her smile visible even from a distance.

"Daddy" Scorpius screamed, as he reached Draco.

Picking up his son, Draco threw him up in the air a few times, loving how he laughed.

"Have you been good to mommy?" Draco asked, holding Scorpius with his right arm.

"Yes dad" He said, rolling his eyes

"And did you learn anything today?"

"Yes, but I have something to tell you first"

"Oh, well then, let's hear it"

"Mum said she has a baby growing inside of her" He said, his facing frowning "And I'm going to be a big brother"

"Scorpius Malfoy!" Sofia said, reaching them "We were supposed to tell him _together!_"

"I'm sorry" Scorpius said with a smirk identical to Draco's and clearly not sorry at all.

"Is it true? Are you going to have another baby?" Draco asked, watching as Sofia stared at Scorpius with a playfully angry look.

"Yes" She said, looking at him and smiling

"Brilliant!" He said, wrapping his left arm around her and kissing her on the lips

"Ewww" Scorpius said, turning his attention elsewhere.

Laughing, Draco put his son down and grabbed Sofia's hand. Together, they walked back inside, Scorp and Barkley running ahead.

* * *

**I hope you have been enjoying the fanfic! I decided to go ahead and post this two chapters today because I am going to Washington DC this Thursday, for a conference, and won't be back until Monday. And then I will probably have lots of work and school to catch up, so it might be a while before I post another chapter. **

**With that, I am sorry to say there are only one or maybe two chapters left in the story! : ( I had never planned to write a sequel, but when I chose to do so, I decided to only touch on major events and all the essential moments. I will leave the rest to our imagination! **

**Thank you for reading this far and please remember reviews are always welcomed! ( : **


	18. And our little family is complete

**As always, anything other than the OC or otherwise cited, belongs to JK. **

* * *

Sofia's second pregnancy came with recurrent, stronger (and often unusual) cravings, but Draco gladly went with it, as her mood swings were almost nonexistent. Fewer things seemed to upset her stomach this time, although Christmas pudding was still one of those things, much to Sofia's disappointment. She was, however, too busy to let it bother her greatly. In between raising Scorpius, instructing her substitute for the months she would take off work again, visiting their families and friends, playing with Barkley, and finding time to spend alone with Draco, she was frequently exhausted by dinner time.

When she hit the eight months mark, Sofia stopped working. Her days were then dedicated to Scorpius, Barkley and the nurseries. Like they did the previous time, they arranged two of the upstairs rooms as nurseries, one for a boy and one for a girl. The girl's nursery was much the same, so the focus was on the boy's. Sofia had wanted a soft shade of red and white, but Draco rejected the idea, offering instead a color choice of white and blue which Sofia quickly rejected because it was too cliché of a combination. In the end, after much debate, they agreed on a color combination of a warm brown and white.

Once he was over the shock of a baby growing inside of Sofia's belly, Scorpius was very excited about having a little brother or sister. Like Draco, he loved to feel the baby kick and he would talk to Sofia's belly for long periods of time. He would also read to the belly, with Draco's help, as he was still learning how to read. Moments like when they all laid on the bed in the master bedroom, Sofia wrapped in Draco's arm, Scorpius on hers and Barkley at their feet, while the boys loved on her and her belly, would always bring a tear to her eyes. Her favorite moment by far had been when she came home from visiting Hermione, to be taken to both nurseries by Draco and Scorpius, who had a very satisfied look on his face. On both rooms, and with Draco's help, Scorp had written the following words next to the cribs: _Scorpius little brother/ Scorpius little sister_. It had taken Sofia by surprise and she had taken Scorp in her arms and hugged him tightly, before putting him back down, going to the sun room and crying for over an hour.

All of their parents were frequent visitors, especially at the end of Sofia's pregnancy. Their interactions with Scorpius always warmed Sofia and Draco's hearths and their excitement about being grandparents once more was almost palpable. Narcissa and Olivia were especially enthusiastic, as they trusted Sofia would have a baby girl.

* * *

"Scorpius, please be careful!" Sofia said, as her son zoomed past her on his toy broom.

It was a late Friday afternoon in March, and the Malfoys and Smiths were all outside enjoying the sunset, bringing an end to another beautiful spring day. Scorp was flying on his broom, Barkley chasing after him, while Sofia, Draco and their parents sat on the benches under a tree enjoying a cup of tea. Next to them, the lake reflected the sunset flawlessly.

"I think we have another Slytherin chaser in the family" Draco said with evident pride.

"And with any luck, he will teach that Potter kid a lesson" Lucius added.

"Will you two please stop with all this competitiveness? And we _don't know_ that he will be in Slytherin" Sofia said, rolling her eyes "Honestly!"

"_All_ Malfoys get sorted into Slytherin, my dear" Lucius said.

"Well, he isn't _just_ a Malfoy now, is he?" Sofia said "I don't care which house he gets sorted into, but don't pressure the boy"

"I would never" Lucius said with a smirk.

"He's too much like his father to be sorted into any other house" Draco said, his eyes never leaving his zooming son.

"Way too much, if you ask me" Sofia said.

"You just wait until he is a teen…" Narcissa joined in.

"It's never too late to take me up on that offer" Caleb said, smiling at his daughter.

"What offer?" Olivia and Draco asked.

"Dad told me on my wedding day I could always come back home, after all, I will always be his little girl" Sofia said.

"I would never allow it" Draco said, in his best serious yet joking voice "Till death do us part, remember?"

"Vaguely" Sofia joked, winking at her husband as she stood up "ow"

"What's wrong?" Draco asked, standing up and rushing to his wife's side.

"My belly" she said, in between breaths

"It's ok, you have done it before. Just relax"

Taking just enough time to tell their parents to meet them at St. Mungos, Draco walked Sofia back to the house and took the floo network to the hospital.

* * *

Roxanne Maeva Malfoy was born in the early hours of Saturday. The moon and stars were barely visible outside the room's window when Draco came in. Much like the first time, Sofia was sitting in bed, cradling their baby and displaying the most beautiful expressions of adoration Draco had ever seen. Telling Scorpius to be quiet, so not to wake his sister, they approached Sofia and Roxanne. Picking Scorp up, Draco placed him in bed next to Sofia and then sat on the edge.

"She is so small!" Scorpius said, peeking inside the blankets "Was I small too?"

"You still are" Sofia said, kissing his head.

"Am not!"

"Shhh" Draco said to Scorpius, before turning to Sofia "May I hold her?"

"Of course"

Very carefully, Sofia handed Draco the baby. Under his wife and son's watchful eyes, he walked with Roxanne to the window. Slowly, she opened her eyes, green like Sofia's and looked straight into his. On that moment, Draco fully comprehended what Caleb meant on the night Draco had asked him for his permission to marry Sofia. This was his baby girl, and no one, as in absolutely no one, would ever be good enough to marry her. Marry? Merlin, to even date her. He shivered as he thought about his daughter sneaking around, like he and Sofia had done, and immediately decided he owned Caleb an apology. His heart began to beat out of control as he thought about ever letting her go… this was going to be hard, much harder than he ever anticipated.

"Draco" Sofia called from the bed "Is everything ok?"

"Oh yes love, I was just thinking how I'll never let Roxy date anyone, until she is thirty… no, make that forty"

"Please don't tell me you are going to be over protective like my father?"

"No, I am going to be far worse" Draco said, smirking as he handed Roxanne back to Sofia.

"Can I hold her mum?" Scorpius asked, oblivious to what his parents were saying.

"Um, yes, but I will help you"

Handing the baby back to Draco, Sofia placed Scorp on her lap and wrapped her arms around his. Then, Draco handed them Roxanne. Sofia made sure Scorp was supporting his sister as good as he could, and used her arms to provide the extra support.

Looking down at his little family, Draco was suddenly overwhelmed with emotion. He had never expected to be happy in life, and had deemed himself lucky when he married Sofia, but this, this was much better than anything he had ever dreamed off.

Soon after, Sofia and Draco's parents came in. They had expected that their moms would drool over Roxanne, but Lucius cooing over her surprised everyone. As they talked, Scorpius moved back to sitting next to Sofia, watching his little sister.

"Look, mummy _look!_" He said, the excitement and joy in his voice evident.

Everyone took a step closer and looked at what Scorp was pointing at. Roxanne was sound asleep, holding one of Scorpius' fingers with her tinny little hand.

"She likes you" Sofia said, rubbing noses with her son.

Scorpius giggled and sat up straighter, visibly proud of how important he was to his sister.

"You are her big brother, that's a big responsibility" Draco said "Do you think you can help me take care of her, like we take care of mum?"

"Yes dad, I can do it"

Draco smiled with satisfaction. Soon after everyone else left, he took Roxanne from Sofia and placed her in the crib next to the bed, tucked Scorpius in next to his mother and laid at the recliner next to the bed. The last thing he saw before falling asleep was his son, comfortably laying by his mother, a smile on his face.

* * *

**First of all, i'm soooo sorry for how long it took me to update! I was super busy while in DC and then catching up on school and work. I hope the chapter was worth the wait (:**

**Second, I would like to dedicate Roxanne's name to my best friend and evil twin, May. I gave her a small list of names and told her to pick one. Thanks for the help twin!**

**Third, the next chapter will be the last! I hate the story is coming to and end, but its been so much fun! Ill try to have it updated by the weekend, just please bare with me!**

**Hope you have enjoyed it so far!**


	19. Epilogue

**As always, anything other than the OC or otherwise cited, belongs to JK.**

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Draco slowly opened his eyes, a yawn escaping his lips. One quick look at the clock told him it was eight thirty in the morning. He smiled edging himself closer to Sofia, as he remembered neither of them had to work this Sunday. Outside, the rain was falling, lighting striking and thunder rolling, but the thick curtains Sofia had insisted on buying when they first moved in kept the lightning from bothering them too much.

Looking down at his wife, who was curled on her side, both hands under her face, he placed an arm over her, fitting his body against hers. After all these years together, he could still watch her sleep without growing bored and he was certain this would never change.

_Good morning beautiful, how was your night?_ he thought, _Mine was wonderful with you by my side and when I open my eyes and see your sweet face, it's a good morning beautiful day. I couldn't see the light, I didn't know day from night, I had no reason to care, but since you came along I can face the dawn, cause I know you'll be there. I'll never worry if it's raining outside 'cause in here with you girl, the sun always shines*._

Leaning over his wife's shoulder, he gently kissed her lips. She quivered, her green eyes slowly fluttering open and meeting his gray ones.

"Good morning Ms. Malfoy" He said, kissing her lips again.

"Good morning" Yawn "Mister Malfoy. What are you doing up so early?"

"No idea, just couldn't go back to sleep"

"I guess we won't go swimming today, after piano lessons" Sofia said after a while, as they could hear the rain falling hard. Draco nodded.

Ever since both kids had turned three, Draco began to teach them how to play the piano. Roxanne had inherited her dad's talent, while Scorpius was good at it but struggled some. On the other hand, he was far more interested in potions making than Roxanne, and he would sit in Sofia's study with her, watching as she worked, whenever he had the chance. One passion both had in common was their love for quidditch, and they seemed to have inherited Draco's competitiveness as well.

"Maybe we can take them to see my parents, since we visited yours last weekend" Draco said, in between kissing Sofia's neck "and we could leave them there, for the day…"

"I would like that" Sofia said, a chill running down her spine "Shall I ask one of our elves to owl your moth"

Sofia and Draco both sat up and Barkley's head shot up as they heard a particular loud thunder, followed by Roxanne's cry coming from the hallway. They were about to get up when the door to their room opened and Roxanne came in. She ran to their bed, slowing down long enough to climb over Barkley and throw herself in Sofia's arms.

"Roxy, what's wrong? Are you hurt?" Sofia asked, looking down at her daughter.

Roxanne didn't say anything, but buried her face even deeper into Sofia's chest and began to cry. Sofia wrapped her arms protectively around her daughter and began to rock back and forth, whispering soothing words while Barkley rested his head on Sofia's legs, facing Roxanne.

"Scorpius Hyperion _Malfoy_" Draco said in an icy tone "What _did you do_ to your sister?"

Sofia looked up and followed Draco's gaze. Her eyes landed on her son, who was standing just outside their bedroom, his face a combination of annoyance, apprehension and fright. She knew, as did Draco, that he had done something wrong by the way he was standing, almost diminished from his usual self. But even so, his height still showed. Sometimes it was hard to believe he was almost nine, and so grown.

"I was just _playing_ with Roxy" He said, finally coming in and putting on a brave face "_She_ didn't have to be so silly"

"What _exactly_ were you playing?" Draco asked.

"I was trying to scare her, because she is afraid of thunders… which is so _senseless_" he said, rolling his eyes.

Sofia held back at smile, Scorpius really was his father's son.

"Come here and apologize to your sister" Draco said "And _do not_ upset her like that again"

"I'm sorry Roxy" Scorpius said, looking, at the back of her head as she was still crying into Sofia's chest. "I won't do it again… will you forgive me?"

They all waited in silence. Sluggishly, Roxanne lifted her head, whipped away her tears and turned to face her brother.

"Okay" She said, before hiding her face again at the sound of another thunder.

"Listen Roxy, there isn't anything to fear about thunders, it is just a noise" Scorpius said, climbing in bed and sitting between Draco and Sofia.

"But it's so _loud_" She said, turning to face her brother.

"I won't let it hurt you, okay?"

"Promise?"

Sofia and Draco exchanged a look, before smiling. Roxanne sounded a lot like her mother right now.

"I promise" Scorpius said "I'm your big brother, remember?"

Roxanne shook her head and smiled at her brother.

"Now that mum and dad are up, can we go eat?" Scorp asked, already getting up.

"Take your sister down, we will be right there" Draco said, as he and Sofia got up as well.

After the kids left, followed closely by Barkley, Draco used his wand to close the door. Walking to Sofia's side of the bed, he wrapped her in his arms and kissed her.

"If I haven't told you this lately, _thank you_" He said, resting his forehead on hers and looking deep into her eyes.

"For what?"

"You, them… our family"

"You are welcome, my love"

"I'm so lucky to have you all in my life, and I love it! Every moment of it"

"Even moments like we just had?"

"Especially moments like we just had"

"Will you ever stop being such a charmer, Draco Malfoy?"

"_Never_" He said, displaying his best smirk

"Good, I wouldn't want you to"

With a smile, Draco kissed her one last time before reaching for her hand. Together, they left the room and had barely reached the top of the stairs when they were met by the sounds coming from the kitchen. Scorp and Roxy could be heard arguing, Barkley was barking and the two house elves were trying to reestablish some order.

Sofia and Draco were both only an only child, and therefore would never be able to comprehend the love between brother and sister but one thing was beyond obvious, their kids aggravated each other the way they did because of how much they loved each other. Thankfully, they were very well behaved and got along nicely the majority of the time, or Sofia and Draco would have lost their minds already.

Looking at each other, Sofia and Draco shared a smile and, hand in hand, began descending the stairs, eager to join the chaos that made their lives worth living.

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*Steve Holy - Good Morning Beautiful

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**The End! I had a wonderful time writing about Draco and Sofia's life!**

**Thank you for reading my fanfic and I hope you enjoyed it ( :**


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